Omaha?s Terence Crawford successfully defended his WBO lightweight title by stopping Yuriorkis Gamboa at 2:37 of round nine?
Saturday night at the Century Link Center in Omaha, Nebraska, Terence Crawford, 24-0 (17 KOs), aka the Pride of Omaha, successfully defended his WBO lightweight title by stopping former featherweight and super featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa (23-1,16 KOs), aka El Ciclon de Guant?namo, at 2:37 of round nine.
Nebraska?s first titleholder since Perry ?Kid? Graves won the vacant welterweight crown by KO?ing Johnny ?Kid? Alberts in 1914, Crawford, fighting out of the red corner in black trunks, proved to the world that he?s no flash in the pan.
Gamboa, fighting out of the blue corner in red, white and blue trunks, was a daring choice as Crawford?s first defense of the title he won from Ricky Burns in March. However enigmatic, Gamboa is proud, athletic and strong, attributes he put to good use in the first third of the fight.
Gamboa was first out of the gate. He landed a 1-2 followed by a left hook that caught Crawford looking. The Cuban kept firing away, controlling the action, controlling the distance, and repeatedly beat the champ to the punch. Crawford began to find the range toward the end of the first, but it was a big round for the challenger.
Gamboa dominated round two. He ate the occasional Crawford jab, but continued to get off first, throwing combinations, while the Pride of Omaha was landing single shots, including a solid right at the bell. According to CompuBox, after two rounds Gamboa had landed 15 of 50 punches to Crawford?s 12 of 55.
The third round went to Gamboa. It was beginning to look as if Crawford had bitten off more than he could chew. The challenger landed a left hook to start things off. He followed with a right that connected. Crawford wasn?t letting his hands go. Another right from Gamboa stunned the champ. Another right by Gamboa landed. Gamboa was timing Crawford. It seemed he had his number. Gamboa landed 12 punches to Crawford?s 7.
The tide began turning in round four. Using fancy footwork to dart in and out of range, Gamboa continued to rack up points. But a fight had broken out and Crawford managed to get in his licks. We gave the round to Crawford. HBO had it for Gamboa. After four rounds, the challenger had landed 36 of 94 punches to the champion?s 20 of 54.
The champion took over the fight in round five. Gamboa, his confidence soaring, landed a right that got Crawford?s attention. He continued to fire away when Crawford landed a bomb that dropped Gamboa at the one-minute mark. He was hurt but got to his feet and continued to fight. Crawford tried and failed to finish him. It was a big 10-8 round for the champion.
Between rounds Gamboa?s corner pleaded, ?You?ve got to keep your hands up. You?ve got to keep your guard up.? Gamboa wasn?t in dreamland, not yet, but he was on his way.
Using patience, poise, skill, and his advantage in height and reach, Crawford pulled ahead and pocketed rounds six and seven. Jabbing, hooking, landing shots upstairs and down, whenever Gamboa got hit he appeared hurt. It was an incredible comeback. There wasn?t an ounce of quit in the challenger, but he was fighting a man possessed, a man in control of his destiny.
Both men went at it in the eighth. Crawford got the better of it as Gamboa, who seemed to shrink in size, kept firing away, oblivious of such niceties as defense. He got caught and dropped a second time. He got to his feet and was met by a left to the body. He almost went down a third time at the bell. Gamboa the fighting man was fighting. Crawford the thinking man?s fighter was thinking and fighting.
Gamboa landed just 7 of 59 punches. Crawford landed a whopping 30 of 50 punches thrown in round eight.
Going into the ninth, it looked like the fight was a done deal. But Gamboa landed a combination followed by a right that buzzed Crawford, whereupon all broke loose. Crawford connected with a left cross that deposited Gamboa on the canvas a third time. Again he beat the count, and again he was dropped, this time by a right uppercut. The referee didn?t administer a count. There was no need. It was over. Terence Crawford, the Pride of Omaha, retained his lightweight title, and he did it in style.
