?Here, I?ve got a bone for you to chew on,? I said entering Dave?s Barbershop on Saturday morning:? Bam Bam Rios and Gamboa, April 14th, Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. What do you think??
?Now that?s what I call a real fight,? exclaimed Dave the Barber:? We?ve got two young bucks full of piss and vinegar. It will be a Gunfight at the OK Corral, no doubt about it. That Cuban boy wants to be like Pacquiao. If memory serves me right he?s been calling Manny for a couple of years now.?
?The only problem is he is a featherweight,? said Al the Barber:? And Manny is a powerful welterweight.?
?Pacman was once a featherweight too,? replied Dave the Barber:? And we all thought he was too small to move up and fight at 130 pounds. And then when he moved up from lightweight to welterweight to face De La Hoya, I thought, oh no, Oscar would slaughter him. It was a massacre, only Oscar was the one being slaughtered. The old axiom of sweet science was proven once again that night ? speed kills. Now we got another super sonic bomber from Cuba jumping two weight classes to prove it again.?
?Only he is not facing a washed up and weight drained De La Hoya,? cut in Big Steve:? But a violent, young beast they call Bam Bam Rios, who only knows one thing; sooner or later he will get you. Have you ever seen the look in that boy?s eyes before the fight? He looks like a starving rodeo bull, right before they open the shoot for him to attack.?
?I am glad you mentioned weight drained De La Hoya,? cried out Downtown Ronnie Brown:? Because last December in New York at the weigh in, Rios looked like death: his eyes looked completely lifeless and his body looked like it was just run through a meat grinder. And yet they are going to be fighting at lightweight, the same weight Brandon almost killed himself and still did not make. That puzzles me.?
?Brandon told me last week that he hired a nutritionist,? I said:? He is confident weight will not be a problem.?
?It didn?t seem to be a problem in New York either,? cut in Al the Barber: ?I didn?t watch the weigh in, but I did see him brutalize that British boy. What was his name? Murray. It won?t be a problem with that Cuban boy either. Brandon is just too, big too strong and too relentless. No matter what he does Gamboa will not be able to stay away for twelve rounds. Sooner or later the brute will catch his prey and devour it with bones and everything.?
?What if Gamboa decides not to run?? inquired Dave the Barber:? His promoter said that he would be much stronger at 135, not having to make the weight. And you have to admit he is just so much faster than Bam Bam. He could probably fire three or four shots before Rios even cocks his fist to throw one. Gamboa is even faster than Pacquiao right now. If memory serves me right they had one common opponent, Jorge Solis. Pacman struggled with him until he was able to knock him out in the eighth. Gamboa scorched him in four.?
?It?s like comparing apples and oranges,? exclaimed Al the Barber:? Pacman was facing an undefeated fighter in 2007. Gamboa was facing a shop worn veteran in 20011. Anyways, if Gamboa decides to fight Brandon it will be a short night. I don?t care how fast he is, Rios is just too big and too strong; he will knock Gamboa out. And then he will be calling out Pacquiao who is running out of opponents? right about now.?
