By Dan Rafael, ESPN.com
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- The speed is simply devastating.
And the power ain't bad either.
Yuriorkis Gamboa used both in a smashing performance as he knocked out Jorge Solis -- a bigger man with an interim title at junior lightweight coming down in weight -- in the fourth round to retain his featherweight title on Saturday night at the Adrian Phillips Ballroom at Boardwalk Hall.
It was a scintillating performance from Gamboa, one of the most explosive fighters in boxing. The 2004 Cuban Olympic gold medalist showed why yet again and, hopefully, moved a step closer to the showdown most fans really want to see in the division: Gamboa against fellow titleholder Juan Manuel Lopez.
Gamboa dismissed Mexico's Solis in nasty fashion while Lopez watched at ringside. Then they both angled for the division's super fight, one that promoter Top Rank has been reluctant to put together.
The fighters are athletically ready, but Top Rank's Bob Arum, who could not attend the show, has resisted making the match in an effort to make it bigger commercially.
It has been building for more than a year as Top Rank has twice put Gamboa on Lopez's undercards.
With a big Puerto Rican fan base, Lopez is already an attraction, but Gamboa lags behind him. The sellout crowd of 2,913 at Saturday's fight card was there mainly in support of the Teon Kennedy-Jorge Diaz and NFL player Tommy Zbikowski undercard fights.
But after his four-knockdown blitz of Solis, Gamboa figured to have made some new fans. Afterward, he called for the fight against Lopez.
"Top Rank is going to keep 'Juanma' at a distance because they know he is not ready for me," Gamboa said. "Maybe [titlist] Chris John [next]. If I have to move up to 130 pounds to get the best fights, that's what I will do.
"The package is complete. I am completely different from [last year]."
Standing next to Gamboa in the ring after the fight was Lopez, who broke camp for a look at his rival. Lopez is training for an April 16 fight with former titlist Orlando Salido -- who gave Gamboa a very tough fight and knocked him down in the eighth round of a September loss in Las Vegas.
When asked about fighting Gamboa, Lopez said bring it on.
"Yes, after I finish Salido, I'd fight him," Lopez said. "I've never said no. He's never said no. We have to negotiate it. We're the best in the division. We have to do it."
Solis is a quality fighter who once gave pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao a tough junior lightweight fight in 2007. Against Gamboa, he was merely a tall speed bump.
He simply could not deal with Gamboa's overwhelming hand and foot speed.
Gamboa dropped him with a right and a left in the second round. A flurry had Solis holding on and in trouble after the knockdown. He went down for the second time in the round when Gamboa caught him with an overhand right that appeared to be behind the head, although referee David Fields did not call a foul.
Gamboa (20-0, 16 KOs) toyed with Solis in the third round until landing a left hook just before the end of the round. Solis went down hard to his back as Gamboa turned and raised his fist in victory. But Solis (40-3-2, 29 KOs) was not done just yet. He was a round later.
In the fourth round, Gamboa, 29, landed a flush right hand in the middle of the ring and Solis, 31, went skidding on his rear end. Moments later, Gamboa ripped off a flurry of roughly a dozen unanswered blows as he pounded Solis into the canvas, causing Fields to call it off at 1 minute, 31 seconds.
Gamboa landed 78 of 194 punches (40 percent), according to CompuBox statistics while Solis was limited to landing just 29 of 107 blows (27 percent). Sixty-eight of Gamboa's landed shots were power punches.
"That's the real Gamboa," Tony Gonzalez, his manager, said. "That's the Gamboa we've been wanting to see. It all came together tonight. He wanted to make a statement and he made a statement."
Gamboa held a pair of 126-pound world titles. However, he he did not show up at the IBF's morning weight check on the day of the fight and only had his WBA belt carried into the ring, so it is unclear if he still holds the IBF's belt. Typically, if a fighter does not take part in the morning of weight check, the title is vacated.
"It's going to get into legalities," Gonzalez said. "Our bout agreement only said he was defending the WBA title."
Whatever belts Gamboa has, Solis gave him a big compliment when asked to compare him to the great Pacquiao.
"Gamboa is a great fighter," Solis said. "Pacquiao throws a lot of punches, but he doesn't hit as hard at Gamboa."
Maybe, hopefully, Lopez will be able to find out just how hard Gamboa hits, and vice versa.
"It's a business. We have promoters," Lopez said of the inevitable showdown with Gamboa. "We are the best in the division. Let's do it."
Please?
Source: sports.espn.go.com
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