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Yuriorkis Gamboa defeated Daniel Ponce de Leon tonight in an uneventful fight that I doubt will do much to advance Gamboa's career--though it won't set him back either and will be easy enough to forget when it comes time to promote his next fight. Gamboa won via technical decision in the eighth round, and the scores were 70-63, 70-63, and 69-64. Bad Left Hook was a bit more generous to Ponce de Leon, scoring it 68-65 for Gamboa. Several of us in the live thread thought the doctor stopped it early based on a not-very-dangerous-looking cut in round eight.
Gamboa's skill advantage was evident all night, but he never really seemed committed to getting de Leon out of there. A couple rounds, he seemed so uncommitted that despite his advantages, I scored it for Ponce de Leon. Ponce de Leon was clearly outclassed, and perhaps it was his awkward southpaw style, but I have a hard time seeing how Gamboa fans will be too enthused about this win, despite the wide scores.