Gamboa Replaces Castellanos on Kovalev-Shabrankyy Undercard

Published by Shawn C.

LOS ANGELES (Nov. 6, 2017) Former unified featherweight champion *Yuriorkis
“El Ciclon de Guantanamo” Gamboa* (27-2, 17 KOs) will step in to fight *Jason
“El Canito” Sosa* (20-2-4, 15 KOs) in a 10-round super featherweight fight
at the *Theater at Madison Square Garden *in the televised opener to *Kovalev
vs. Shabrankskyy*. The event takes place Saturday, Nov. 25 and will be
televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET
/PT.

Gamboa, a 35-year-old native of Guantanamo, Cuba, is an Olympic Gold
Medalist who shot to the top of the Featherweight rankings to win two world
titles, defeating the likes of *Orlando “Siri” Salido* and *Daniel Ponce De
Leon* before officially moving up to 130 pounds. Gamboa has also faced
stiff competition as a super featherweight, with wins against *Darleys
Perez* and *Rene “El Gemelo” Alvarado* under his belt. Gamboa is
replacing *Robinson
“Robin Hood” Castellanos*, who pulled out of this fight due to an injury.

“I’m excited for this great opportunity to fight Sosa on the undercard of
Kovalev-Shabranakssy,” said *Gamboa.* “A win over Sosa on HBO could push me
back into title contention. I’m a fighter with many aspects and dimensions,
and that’s what I’ll bring in my fight against Sosa. For my last fight, I
wasn’t prepared well. This time I will be very much prepared, so I can walk
away with my hand raised.”

“I’m excited for Gamboa,” said *Zeferino Ramirez* of ZR Entertainment.
“This is the fight we wanted. And I expect big things in 2018. He’ll be
ready for any 130-pound champion if he is successful on November 25.”

The 29-year-old Sosa, of Camden, NJ, is the former WBA World Super
Featherweight Champion. He earned his title by handing *Javier “El Abejon”
Fortuna* his first loss as a pro with an 11th-round knockout in Beijing,
China in June 2016. Sosa successfully defended his title with a 12-round
decision win over Stephen Smith in Monte Carlo in November 2016 before
returning several months later in a tough fight against *Vasyl “Hi-Tech”
Lomachenko* in April 2017. Sosa is also known for fighting to an impressive
majority draw against former WBA Super World Featherweight Champion *Nicholas
“Axe Man” Walters* and for stopping former world title challenger *Jerry
“The Corpus Christi Kid” Belmontes* in only one round.

“People think we have an easier opponent in Gamboa since Castellanos beat
him, but we’re not buying into that,” said Sosa. “Maybe Gamboa didn’t take
Castellanos seriously. We expect to see the very best Gamboa on Nov. 25.
Having said that, this is not about who we are fighting; this is about
why. We are fighting to make Puerto Rico proud after what all the people
who live there have been through recently.”

“This should be a solid fight between two guys, the same size, who like to
hurt people,” said *Russell Peltz*, Hall of Fame Promoter of Peltz Boxing
Promotions.”It’s a better matchup, style-wise, than the one between Jason
and Robinson Castellanos.”
*Kovalev vs. Shabranskyy* is a 12-round fight for the vacant WBO Light
Heavyweight World Title promoted by Main Events and Krusher Promotions in
association with Golden Boy Promotions. *Barrera vs. Valera *is a 10-round
light heavyweight fight promoted by Main Events in Association with Shuan
Boxing Promotions. *Gamboa vs. Sosa *is a 10-round super featherweight
fight promoted by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Peltz Boxing
and ZR Entertainment. The event will take place on Nov. 25 at the Theater
at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and will be televised live on
HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10 p.m. ET/PT.