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Yuriorkis Gamboa brought a boxer\u2019s eye to bare knuckle fighting at BKB 58, using head movement, spacing and clean counters to keep Yesner \u201cCuajadita\u201d Talavera chasing. A new BKB clip shows the 44-year-old Cuban slipping shots, making Talavera miss in close and answering with sharp punches during a five-round win in Miami.<\/p>\n
Yuriorkis Gamboa looked at home inside BKB\u2019s three-sided Trigon on August 29, even without gloves for the first time in his long combat-sports career. The former Olympic champion and two-division boxing titleholder faced fellow pro boxer Yesner Talavera in a super lightweight bout at the James L. Knight Center in Miami. Rather than rush exchanges, Gamboa settled into a rhythm built around movement. He dipped under incoming punches, leaned back from shots and shifted just out of range before firing back.<\/p>\n
The BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing footage captures his approach. Talavera presses forward, but Gamboa makes him pay for overcommitting. A missed punch becomes an opening for Gamboa to counter. When the distance closes, the Cuban veteran uses small turns and head slips to avoid being a stationary target, then returns fire before resetting.<\/p>\n
It is a familiar style for fans who followed Gamboa\u2019s gloved career, though the setting was very different. There is far less room for error in bare knuckle boxing, where a clean connection can quickly change a fight. Gamboa kept his face largely clear after five rounds, a useful sign of how often he avoided Talavera\u2019s best attempts.<\/p>\n
Gamboa arrived in BKB with a serious boxing background. He won Olympic flyweight gold for Cuba at the 2004 Athens Games, then built a professional r\u00e9sum\u00e9 that included world titles at featherweight and super featherweight. Before his bare knuckle debut, he had competed against high-level names including Terence Crawford, Gervonta Davis, Devin Haney and Isaac Cruz.<\/p>\n