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It was target practice tonight for Cuban phenom Yuriorkis Gamboa, as the WBA featherweight titlist landed 53 of 107 punches, knocking down Roger Mtagwa three times in two rounds before referee Steve Smoger called a merciful end to the fight.
Gamboa (17-0, 15 KO) was a tornado of devastating offense, looking arguably the best he ever has in his young, outstanding career. There has been talk of him fighting Juan Manuel Lopez should Lopez win later tonight, and that now looks even more like a must-see fight.
Mtagwa (26-14-2, 18 KO) loses no respect. He only lost this way because he's an ultra brave, tough fighter, and in trying to land -- which he could not -- Gamboa ripped him apart. It wasn't even close.
In many ways, it's exactly what I expected. Gamboa is just a better matchup for Mtagwa than was Lopez. I did not expect it so quickly, but it was clear very quickly that Mtagwa simply was not in Gamboa's league, and that the matchup was all wrong for him. Mtagwa couldn't land anything and was hit with everything.
We have continuing live coverage one post down, including the upcoming Luevano-Lopez main event.