Saturday, January 23, in the WaMu Theater in the “Mecca of Boxing,” Madison Square Garden. Lopez, Gamboa (16-0, 14 KOs), a native of Guantanamo who now hails from Miami, Fla., has been considered one of boxing’s brightest lights dating back to his amateur days, which included winning Olympic gold at the 2004 games. Since making his professional debut in 2007, Gamboa has sought – and defeated – the toughest and most experienced opposition available. In only his second year as a professional he collected the NABF and WBC International super featherweight titles and then moved down in weight to collect the NABO featherweight title in three consecutive fights, with victories over Johnnie Edwards, Darling Jimenez and Al Seeger, respectively, destroying Edwards and Seeger in the first round while winning a 10-round unanimous decision over Jimenez.. He captured the WBA featherweight title on April 17, knocking out four-time world title challenger Jose Rojas in the 10th round. He successfully defended the title on October 10 at The Garden, knocking out Panamanian strongman Whyber Garcia in the fourth round. The two-fisted Cuban KO artist boasts a lethal combination of power and speed, an amateur background second to none (he is a four-time Gold Medal winner in the Cuban National Championships) and a victory by knockout ratio that’s on par with JuanMa Lopez.
Mtagwa (26-13-2, 18 KOs), a native of Dodoma, Tanzania, who has been compared to the great Dick Tiger because of his heritage and his improvement with age, has made Philadelphia, Penn. his base since moving to the U.S. in 2000. The former African Boxing Union super bantamweight champion has incrementally advanced his career by fighting and defeating some of the best competition at 122 and 126 pounds. But his “coming out party” on the world stage occurred in his last fight when he challenged world champion Juan Manuel Lopez for his WBO junior featherweight title at The Garden in October. Mtagwa was the star of the night, trading leather with JuanMa for 12 exciting rounds, pushing the champ to the brink before the final bell rang. Though the judges’ scores reflected a decision loss for Mtagwa, the fight proved he was a winner, earning him another world title shot, this time against Gamboa. Mtagwa’s career highlights include winning the vacant U.S. Boxing Association (USBA) featherweight title in 2005 via a 10th-round TKO of Joe Morales. He successfully defended the title twice, knocking out Art Simonyan and Alvin Brown, both in the fourth round. His come-from-behind 10th-round TKO victory over Tomas Villas last year, ending Villa’s three-year, 12-bout unbeaten streak, was considered a 2008 Fight of the Year candidate. Currently world-rated No. 7 by the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and No. 10 by the WBO, Mtagwa is trained by Bobby “Boogaloo” Watts, one of only three men to have beaten Marvelous Marvin Hagler.
Mtagwa (26-13-2, 18 KOs), a native of Dodoma, Tanzania, who has been compared to the great Dick Tiger because of his heritage and his improvement with age, has made Philadelphia, Penn. his base since moving to the U.S. in 2000. The former African Boxing Union super bantamweight champion has incrementally advanced his career by fighting and defeating some of the best competition at 122 and 126 pounds. But his “coming out party” on the world stage occurred in his last fight when he challenged world champion Juan Manuel Lopez for his WBO junior featherweight title at The Garden in October. Mtagwa was the star of the night, trading leather with JuanMa for 12 exciting rounds, pushing the champ to the brink before the final bell rang. Though the judges’ scores reflected a decision loss for Mtagwa, the fight proved he was a winner, earning him another world title shot, this time against Gamboa. Mtagwa’s career highlights include winning the vacant U.S. Boxing Association (USBA) featherweight title in 2005 via a 10th-round TKO of Joe Morales. He successfully defended the title twice, knocking out Art Simonyan and Alvin Brown, both in the fourth round. His come-from-behind 10th-round TKO victory over Tomas Villas last year, ending Villa’s three-year, 12-bout unbeaten streak, was considered a 2008 Fight of the Year candidate. Currently world-rated No. 7 by the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and No. 10 by the WBO, Mtagwa is trained by Bobby “Boogaloo” Watts, one of only three men to have beaten Marvelous Marvin Hagler.
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