Yuriorkis Gamboa's journey back to prominence began more than half a year ago with talks of a potential fight against Gervonta Davis this summer, but he had to wait several more months before getting that.
It seemed as if Gamboa would face the unbeaten Davis in July, but after some intervention from the WBA ordering Davis to defend his 130-pound title against Eduardo Nunez. As such, Gamboa was relegated to the co-main event bout where he took on Roman Martinez on that July card in Baltimore that Davis headlined.
For Gamboa, it was clear that he needed not only a win against Martinez, but a dazzling one. He accomplished just that with a second-round stoppage victory, officially starting the build to a fight against Davis, now taking place on December 28 in Atlanta. Five years after Gamboa last fought in a title bout, he has a chance to win the WBA "Regular" lightweight title, something that has motivated Gamboa greatly all year long.
"Definitely, both play a huge factor into what went into this training camp. We all know the significance of fighting for a world title, and at the same time, the magnitude of this fight in and of itself has contributed to the intensity of this training camp and the workload that we?ve had. The work that went into this training camp was for me to regain and exceed the level that I was at when I was a reigning world champion," Gamboa told Fightful in a recent media call through a translator. "I think the work that was done and put into the camp against Roman Martinez and the results or the outcome of that bout clearly reflected the amount of work that I put into training camp. Now I expanded and went above and beyond my last training camp in order to get to the level I need to, in order to come out victorious on December 28."
With the fight taking place at 135 pounds, Davis' first at that weight after being a 130-pound titleholder since 2017, Gamboa feels not only confident in his abilities, but also finds solace in the fact that this is a weight where Gamboa has more experience in. After all, Gamboa held a title at 135 pounds and after a dominant win over Martinez, Gamboa feels rejuvenated, confident that he can turn back the clock one last time.
"Obviously the nod has to go for me for experience, just because of the mere fact of my record and who I?ve faced. I definitely think I?ve faced better opponents and the better quality of opponents than Gervonta has, with all due respect to him. At the same time, the last fight that I had against Martinez, not only that but also against [Miguel] Beltran, goes to indicate that there?s a lot left for me to give in this sport. So, there are a lot of things that are being overlooked, and that I believe give me a definite advantage over Gervonta, come December 28," Gamboa said.
Davis vs. Gamboa for the WBA "Regular" lightweight title headlines the December 28 Showtime Championship Boxing card from Atlanta.