Yuriorkis Gamboa named No. 1 contender for Takashi Uchiyama and WBA title

Yuriorkis Gamboa has been named the No. 1 contender to the WBA super featherweight title held by Takashi Uchiyama, making way for a potentially explosive fight if Gamboa stays at 130 pounds.

Gamboa (22-0, 16 KO) has stated a desire to move up to 135 as soon as possible, calling out WBC champion Adrien Broner specifically, and he's also interested in facing WBO champ Ricky Burns. But those fights might not be doable; Broner has a bout on February 16 with Gavin Rees already scheduled, and Burns frankly has given no indication that he wants to travel outside of the United Kingdom, other than his team saying that they do want to face Broner in the U.S., an opportunity that has been available to them on more than one occasion, but has yet to actually happen.

The 31-year-old Cuban, now promoted by 50 Cent's SMS team, had a rocky outing on December 8 against Michael Farenas, a limited Filipino with some power. Uchiyama (19-0-1, 16 KO) would be no walk in the park. Though he's not well-known in the United States, he's a legit, quality fighter, and I get the feeling plenty of people who have seen him fight would be feeling an upset special if he does wind up facing Gamboa.