FanHouse YuriorkisGamboa

TAMPA, Fla. -- With eyes fixated on perspiration-soaked, WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto's workout, Bob Arum surveyed his latest promotional responsibility at The Fight Factory gymnasium like an artist appreciating his most recent piece.

"Miguel is just a fighter with great, great heart," said Arum, whose 42 years in boxing began with the Muhammad Ali victory over George Chuvalo -- his first of 26 fights involving the man many call "The Greatest" -- and included the George Foreman comeback.

A 78-year-old Harvard graduate and attorney, Arum also handled every fight of Marvelous Marvin Hagler's career, as well as substantial portions of those of Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

FanHouse caught up with Arum on Tuesday during Cotto's training in Florida for his Nov. 14 defense against Manny Pacquiao to discuss the futures of Cotto, Pacquiao, and several other fighters he promotes.

On Saturday night, three fights of interest will transpire in the superbantamweight and featherweight divisions.

Puerto Rico's WBO superbantamweight (122-pounds) champion, Juan Manuel Lopez (pictured left) and WBA featherweight (126) king Yuriorkis Gamboa (middle) will be involved in two of them at the WaMu Theatre in New York's Madision Square Garden, with Mexican-born 126-pounder, Israel Vazquez (right) being in the third at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles.

Depending on the results, any of the three boxers could soon wind up in the ring opposite each other.

Yuriorkis Gamboa, the boxer who won a 2004 Olympic gold medal for Cuba and is now a professional fighting out of Miami, headlined a major card for the first time tonight and put on a good show.

Gamboa defeated Darling Jimenez by unanimous decision to run his record to 10-0, and he did so in exciting fashion, displaying sensational hand speed and excellent conditioning.

But he also displayed very little defense, and he almost always kept his hands down near his waist, rather than in position to protect his head. As a result, Jimenez landed a right hand that knocked Gamboa down in the fourth round. And Gamboa didn't display quite as much punching power as expected, so fans who thought Gamboa would score a quick knockout were disappointed. Jimenez showed a lot of heart in making it through 10 rounds without getting knocked down.

Gamboa is a rising star. He said before tonight's fight, "It's an honor to be able to fight on HBO with only nine fights," and assuming there were no injuries tonight, he's expected to fight on ESPN2 in just six weeks. It shouldn't be long before he's on pay-per-view, fighting for a title.

It was a great night of boxing on HBO, with two other young fighters staying undefeated: James Kirkland knocked out Eromosele Albert in the first round, and Alfredo Angulo stopped Richar Gutierrez in the fifth round of an action-packed brawl. In Gamboa, Kirkland and Angulo, the sport has three undefeated young fighters who could be champions some day. It was a pleasure to see them all in one night.