Boxing?s biggest non-fight the past two years has been Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. The hard-core as well as casual fan continues to hope that Pacquiao and Mayweather will eventually fight, after repeated breakdowns in negotiations.
Although not at the magnitude of Pacquiao and Mayweather, Miami resident and featherweight world champion Yuriorkis Gamboa also is in his own ?non-fight? situation.
For the past year, Gamboa (19-0, 15 KOs) has been mentioned in a coveted bout with fellow featherweight titleholder Juan Manuel Lopez. But despite sharing the same promotional company, Gamboa and Lopez have their own impasse on a possible fight.
With Lopez unlikely in his immediate fight plans, Gamboa will continue to defend his two sanctioning body titles against less lucrative options, such as in Saturday night?s bout against Jorge Solis in Atlantic City (9:45 p.m., HBO).
?All they have been doing is talk, but they take no action,? Gamboa said of Lopez?s representative during a conference call Thursday. ?I am tired of their talk. I will be ready whenever the fight is made. I am not in a hurry to fight him. There are other good fights in this division that I am going to take advantage of.?
Although Solis (40-2-2, 29 KOs) is not considered a marquee opponent, the native of Mexico earned his boxing stripes by lasting eight rounds with Pacquiao in a TKO loss four years ago. Moreover, Gamboa?s promoters consider Saturday?s bout as another opportunity for Gamboa to expand his appeal.
But don?t expect talk of a Gamboa-Lopez fight to diminish if Gamboa retains his International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Association featherweight belts against Solis. In fact, it could intensify, especially if Lopez successfully defends his featherweight belt against Orlando Salido on April 16.
?There is a time for a fight to be made,? said Todd DuBoef, president of Top Rank, which co-promotes Gamboa and also has promotional rights to Lopez. ?There is something in between and that is building the marketability of both fighters. We don?t dwell on time lines.
?We?ve seen both of them progress substantially over the last 12 months.?
DuBoef said Gamboa is enjoying better ratings with each HBO appearance. Gamboa?s bout against Solis will be his fifth televised by the network.
?I want to maintain my unbeaten record and make sure every win I have is more convincing than the previous one,? Gamboa said. ?Not only is victory important but also how you accomplish it.?
