Gamboa v Rios: isn't this a size mismatch?

Great fight in many ways, two exciting punchers, no doubt. But Gamboa is a FW and Rios is the biggest LW I have ever seen. To me this fight goes one of two ways. Either Gamboa dances round Rios all night to a points victory, or Rios KO's him once he catches up to him. Just the weight, Rios is going to be so much bigger on fight night it's silly. Also, Gamboa likes to fire and that may be his downfall.

I think this is a case of a good big'un versus a great little'un and would pick Gamboa to win, but it'll be close and I expect him to have to get up off the canvas to do it.

Expect either a late TKO or UD by 2-3 rounds max to Gamboa.

My thoughts exactly. It surprises me that most people I've seen are going for Gamboa. Gamboa seems to be relying on the fact that he hits really hard, and that Rios is there to be hit. But, as a smaller guy, will his power transfer up 2 weight divisions to trouble a guy that most solid punchers at lightweight (and I'd guess at LWW) can't seem to discourage? I'm not so sure. I'll tell you what though, if Gamboa does hurt Rios, then his power is seriously the real deal. Rios will be relying on the fact that he can walk through most of what's thrown at him and wear Gamboa down. If Gamboa gets caught on the ropes or even stalled on the inside for periods, then Rios is going to murder him.

Such a risky fight for both guys. If Rios proves right, Gamboa is in for a painful beating from a very strong guy. If Gamboa proves right, Rios has just been beat by a FW. In this day and age it's become so uncommon to see promoters allow their fighters to take such risks. It's fascinating to see how it'll all work out, but I've got a feeling that Rios' size, strength, relentlessness, chin, and heart are going to get him the win here. I just think Gamboa's natural fire-fighting instincts are too strong, and will prevent him from dancing away to a points decision.

Boxtthis wrote:My thoughts exactly. It surprises me that most people I've seen are going for Gamboa. Gamboa seems to be relying on the fact that he hits really hard, and that Rios is there to be hit. But, as a smaller guy, will his power transfer up 2 weight divisions to trouble a guy that most solid punchers at lightweight (and I'd guess at LWW) can't seem to discourage? I'm not so sure. I'll tell you what though, if Gamboa does hurt Rios, then his power is seriously the real deal. Rios will be relying on the fact that he can walk through most of what's thrown at him and wear Gamboa down. If Gamboa gets caught on the ropes or even stalled on the inside for periods, then Rios is going to murder him.

Such a risky fight for both guys. If Rios proves right, Gamboa is in for a painful beating from a very strong guy. If Gamboa proves right, Rios has just been beat by a FW. In this day and age it's become so uncommon to see promoters allow their fighters to take such risks. It's fascinating to see how it'll all work out, but I've got a feeling that Rios' size, strength, relentlessness, chin, and heart are going to get him the win here. I just think Gamboa's natural fire-fighting instincts are too strong, and will prevent him from dancing away to a points decision.

With Rios looking very gaunt in his last fight with Murray, it suggests to me his is struggling to make lightweight. I was also surprised with the amount of punches Murray landed on Rios. With Gamboa's skill set, speed and power, I feels that Rios is there for taking at lightweight. Even if his punches don't have the desired effect, I believe Gamboa has enough in his locker to win via UD. But Gamboa hasn't got the greatest of chins which makes this an intriguing fight. Looking forward to this one.

Get a feeling Rios didnt train 100% for the Murray fight but knows he has to here.

Going with Gamboa, but Gamboa for once has to have his hands up surely cos he can't take murderous shots for a sustained period surely...

Rios to just be a bit too slow and not be able to cut the ring off fast enough, plods too much.

I think Gamboa is going to surprise a lot of people here; I can see him winning, and winning well. Vulnerable in the early stages, but if he gets through them I think it's his fight all the way.

I think that cases of men simply being too big for the smaller guy moving up are nicely balanced by the smaller and faster man being too speedy for a bigger and far less mobile target, particuarly one as predictable as Rios. I expect the latter to materialize here.

Gamboa will definatley outbox Rios at times, but i agree with boxthis. 2weight classes against a guy with a good chin. Rios will prepare better for this too. I see Gamboa getting off all night but if Rios can slow him down, then it is night night

Theres a few issues in this that make it interesting. The weight is a big factor. When you have a fighter moving up a division or in this case two in weight it can often be difficult to predict how they handle the weight. Some go up and become small at the higher weight, power becomes diluted, speed is reduced etc while others grow into the weight and the added strength it allows.

On the surface it would appear that the weight is a big plus for Rios in this but Im not so sure. He lost his titles on the scales last time and while its possible that it was due to not taking Murray seriously enough, it also suggests he is really cutting weight to hit the limit and isnt entirely comfortable. When this happens theres a danger of being drained. Gamboa on the other hand has the opportunity to grow into a new weight and build up his strength. As long as he doesnt look to add weight by just putting on a bit of flab and opts to build muscle then I can see this favouring him to some extent while Rios struggles to make weight.

As for the fight itself. I favour Gamboa in it whether his power really carries or not. If it does, then he could secure a stoppage, especially if Rios is a little weak at the weight. If it doesnt I still see him having all the neccessaries to win on points.

I can see from both perspectives why they might fancy this fight. Rios will see Gamboa as a small man there to be bullied. Gamboa has been down before and hurt even at featherweight so Rios will fancy his chances and be confident in his size and power. On the other hand Gamboa will look at Rios struggling to make weight and possibly being weak at the weight, he will see Rios as much slower and wide open to be hit.

I feel that Rios opposition of late has kind of been made for him. Hes a hard hitting, physical pressure fighter that likes when he doesnt have to go looking to hard for his opponents. He likes to use his size and power to bully opponents. Gamboa defensively isnt great, but stylewise he is more of an ambush fighter that likes leaping in and out to land shots. I just think this style will be effective against Rios. Rios is there to be hit when coming forward and I see Gamboa being able to ambush him effectively and get away before Rios can get him. Assuming Gamboa doesnt lose alot of speed with the extra weight, I think his footspeed advantage and ambush style will triumph over Rios pressure and power style.

As I said above, the fact you have one big guy working hard to get to 135 and one small guy coming up to 135 means theres an element of uncertainty with the weight. But in some ways I think there has been too much emphasis on the weight only being a massive advantage to Rios which may not be the case. Im reminded in some ways of Pacquiao v de la Hoya where most people thought Oscar would be just too big and walk Pacquiao down. But the struggle of making weight combined with Pacquiaos easy transition up the weights and speed advantage made it quite one sided. I would not envisage Rios being quite so drained but I can forsee the weight issue being a bit of a red herring. Stylewise I prefer Gamboa in this and also feel he has the advantages in the speed and technique departments.

Dont think Gamboa has been hurt at FW, what fight was he hurt in? The only fight he has been knocked down was by an incompetant ref seeing a slip as a knock down to my knowledge? Then again I havent seen all his fights.

In some ways its a bit like DLH Vs. Pac but Pac outweighed DLH on the night which won't happen here (Due to daft weight stips to be fair)

I still expect Gamboa to win, but I expect it to be tough at times.

Rios loses he goes LWW, Gamboa loses he was a guy jumping 2 weight divisions against possibly one of the biggest LW's ever.

What are these weight stipulations Pacquiao imposed on de la Hoya?

Ive never heard anything that confirms the fight wasnt just a welterweight fight.

AlexHuckerby wrote:Dont think Gamboa has been hurt at FW, what fight was he hurt in? The only fight he has been knocked down was by an incompetant ref seeing a slip as a knock down to my knowledge? Then again I havent seen all his fights.

In some ways its a bit like DLH Vs. Pac but Pac outweighed DLH on the night which won't happen here (Due to daft weight stips to be fair)

I still expect Gamboa to win, but I expect it to be tough at times.

Rios loses he goes LWW, Gamboa loses he was a guy jumping 2 weight divisions against possibly one of the biggest LW's ever.

Purely from a bit of data mining on Boxrec Gamboa does seem to have been dropped a few times, I only knew of the one you were referring to originally.

manos de piedra wrote:What are these weight stipulations Pacquiao imposed on de la Hoya?

Ive never heard anything that confirms the fight wasnt just a welterweight fight.

Unofficial weight, he wasnt allowed to rehydrate past 147 so he only rehydrated 2 pounds hence why Pac was heavier than him on the night.

I think it was something daft like $3 million for every pound over 147 on unofficial weight. Which is part of the reason DLH was so dead. Look at unofficial weight videos on Youtube from the HBO Footage DLH weighs in less than Pac. He was 145 then was only allowed to rehydrate to 147. It's not some nutty Azania ramblings, is actual fact.

Considering he was coming in the ring about 20 pounds heavier than that usually and it was at the very end of his career so in my view it was a bit overly harsh and gave Pac a really big advantage.

Has this somehow merged into the Manny Weight-Stips thread....?

Nah but the fight was looked at as being similar to one of his fights. If it gets merged then its a joke...

Wheres does it say de la Hoya was not allowed to rehydrate past 147? He was not allowed weigh in over 147lb or else he would face financial penalties. Is there anywhere that says he could not rehydrate past it? Because all I have seen is that he was not allowed to weigh in over it for the official weigh in or else he would be fined for ever pound overweight he was.

Oscar was contracted to make 147, being fined for being over the limit is standard practice. I dont know how Pacquiao ends up with the blame for Oscar making a hash of his own weight.

Lets not forget Pacquiao himself had barely any credentials above super featherweight at the tight and that de la Hoya was a decent favourite that most people thought would just overpower and walk through Pacquiao. This fight was seen as a physical mismatch and not at all a big advantage to Pacquiao. Unless Pacquaio was expected to jump from lightweight to light middleweight or something?

Lastly, de la Hoya was the single biggest draw in boxing. The idea that Pacquiao could dictate terms to him I find hard to believe. This was Pacquaio that was before he really reached the heights that he is at now. Back then he was a big name but its was really only the de la Hoya fight and his exploits above superfeatherweight that pushed him to the transcending superstar level he is now.

Nothing I have ever read, even from de la Hoya himself, has stated that this wasnt just a contracted welterweight fight.

manos de piedra wrote:Wheres does it say de la Hoya was not allowed to rehydrate past 147? He was not allowed weigh in over 147lb or else he would face financial penalties. Is there anywhere that says he could not rehydrate past it? Because all I have seen is that he was not allowed to weigh in over it for the official weigh in or else he would be fined for ever pound overweight he was.

Oscar was contracted to make 147, being fined for being over the limit is standard practice. I dont know how Pacquiao ends up with the blame for Oscar making a hash of his own weight.

Lets not forget Pacquiao himself had barely any credentials above super featherweight at the tight and that de la Hoya was a decent favourite that most people thought would just overpower and walk through Pacquiao. This fight was seen as a physical mismatch and not at all a big advantage to Pacquiao. Unless Pacquaio was expected to jump from lightweight to light middleweight or something?

Lastly, de la Hoya was the single biggest draw in boxing. The idea that Pacquiao could dictate terms to him I find hard to believe. This was Pacquaio that was before he really reached the heights that he is at now. Back then he was a big name but its was really only the de la Hoya fight and his exploits above superfeatherweight that pushed him to the transcending superstar level he is now.

Nothing I have ever read, even from de la Hoya himself, has stated that this wasnt just a contracted welterweight fight.

This is exactly the impression I was under. The main reason Oscar looked so bad in this fight was because he made a complete a**e of his weight cut.

Boxtthis wrote:

manos de piedra wrote:Wheres does it say de la Hoya was not allowed to rehydrate past 147? He was not allowed weigh in over 147lb or else he would face financial penalties. Is there anywhere that says he could not rehydrate past it? Because all I have seen is that he was not allowed to weigh in over it for the official weigh in or else he would be fined for ever pound overweight he was.

Oscar was contracted to make 147, being fined for being over the limit is standard practice. I dont know how Pacquiao ends up with the blame for Oscar making a hash of his own weight.

Lets not forget Pacquiao himself had barely any credentials above super featherweight at the tight and that de la Hoya was a decent favourite that most people thought would just overpower and walk through Pacquiao. This fight was seen as a physical mismatch and not at all a big advantage to Pacquiao. Unless Pacquaio was expected to jump from lightweight to light middleweight or something?

Lastly, de la Hoya was the single biggest draw in boxing. The idea that Pacquiao could dictate terms to him I find hard to believe. This was Pacquaio that was before he really reached the heights that he is at now. Back then he was a big name but its was really only the de la Hoya fight and his exploits above superfeatherweight that pushed him to the transcending superstar level he is now.

Nothing I have ever read, even from de la Hoya himself, has stated that this wasnt just a contracted welterweight fight.

This is exactly the impression I was under. The main reason Oscar looked so bad in this fight was because he made a complete a**e of his weight cut.

Oscar called the shots in this fight Alex. He made a complete hash of his weight cut and ended up on a drip to rehydrate himself. He done well to stay on his feet.

Gamboa does remind me of a younger pacquiao. He has blistering hand speed, lots of power, multiple combos, in and out style and defensively vulnerable.

I can't see rios getting stopped. Gamboa hits very hard at SFW, but he was very big for the weight there, something he won't be at lightweight. Gamboa couldn't knock out salido and although salido is very tough and has a granite chin for a featherweight, rios is a bigger version of him with more power, slightly better skills and a much higher work rate.

I also don't agree that rios opponents so far are tailor made for him. Peterson was being built up as a big deal before brandon. The fight was 50/50 before it happened. Peterson is a skilful operator with a good jab, good movement, high stamina perhaps the only thig he didn't have was a big punch on him. Acosta however did have a big shot on him. He was a natural lightweight who was very comfortable on the back foot. He had very fast hands also and was bigger than Gamboa. That fight was also a 50/50 and rios managed to wear him down like ge does everyone.

Gamboa will provably be up by 60-54 at one point but rios won't stop and Gamboa will realise for the first time in his career (amateurs also) how it feels to be tagged by a huge puncher. How he takes it, I have no idea but I'll go for a rios stoppage round 11 with Gamboa ahead on the cards by a couple of rounds at that point

Salido gave Gamboa a few problems and Rios is a lot bigger. Probably gonna have to watch more of these two, but its going to certainly be interesting.

Were they the same size then it would be an easy win for Gamboa but power, durability, strength and size all favour Rios, could be a big equalizer.