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For many years when we watched the Boxing at the Olympics we would wonder at the greatness of many of the Cubans, knowing that we’d never see them in the pro game after Fidel
Castro banned professional sports on the Island in the 1950’s. There was a long line of brilliant pugilists who never made the leap Teofilo Stevenson, Felix Savon et al. However in late 2006 news broke that three 2004 Olympics gold medallists had defected whilst in a training camp in Venezuela. One of them was Yuriorkis “El Ciclon de Guantánamo” Gamboa. He moved quickly impressing fans and media alike with his blinding hand speed and crowd pleasing offensive skills that set him apart from the rest. While the rule of thumb with most Cubans is that they are by and large stylists, whereas Gamboa is far more aggressive and looks for the KO. After just 2 years in the pro ranks Gamboa won the WBA featherweight title, after 3 successful defences he added the IBF crown to his list of achievements. Next up for Gamboa is Jorge Solis on 26 March in Atlantic City. If Gamboa beats Jorge Solis on 26 March in Atlantic City, NJ a fight with Puerto Rican star Juanma Lopez will be one step closer. It is hoped that the two who seem to be on a collision course will meet later in 2011. For now Gamboa 29, will focus his attention on Solis and look to improve his 19-0(15) record. Here’s what Gamboa had to say.

Hello Yuriorkis, welcome to 15rounds.com

Anson Wainwright – Firstly in your last fight you won the IBF Featherweight title when you beat Orlando Salido. What can you tell us about the fight & how happy were you with that performance?

Yuriorkis Gamboa – At this stage of my career every fight is special and fights are getting harder and harder because the opponents are getting stronger and stronger. Salido was a world champion like me. I knew he would come to fight and that he wouldn’t just hand over his belt to me. I think it was a good fight. I know that I still have room for improvement. Together with my trainer Ismael Salas I am analyzing every fight very closely. We are both perfectionists so we always want to look better in the next fight.

Anson Wainwright – Chris John is the WBA “Super” Featherweight champion it has been said that you may both fight this year, can you tell us about developments with that fight? If that fight didn’t come off do you have a plan B?

Yuriorkis Gamboa – There are talks about a lot of fights. I think there are many great possible fights out there in the division right now. Chris John is always an interesting option. For the moment I fully focus on my next opponent Jorge Solis from Mexico. I will face him on March 26th in Atlantic City. I expect a very tough fight again against a strong opponent.

Anson Wainwright – Word is that if both you & JuanMa Lopez win your next fights you could fight in possibly 2011. What do you think of that fight & how do you rate Lopez?

Yuriorkis Gamboa – I always said that I want to fight JuanMa. To prove that I am the best in the world I have to beat the best and JuanMa is surely a great champion and one of the toughest guys out there. But I will show him that he’s not tough enough for me when we finally meet in the ring.

Anson Wainwright – Could you tell us about your team, who is your manager, trainer & promoter? Also what gym do you train at regularly?

Yuriorkis Gamboa – Ahmet Oner has been my promoter since I started my professional career back in 2007. He brought me to where I am right now and I thank him for all he’s done for me. He also helped me to reunite with my former amateur coach Ismael Salas who is very important for me. I always knew that I would be a champion at the professionals like I have been champion at the amateurs. But I also felt that Ismael was sort of a missing piece. When I started working with him again I knew nobody could stop me or us as a team. On the promotional side we are also working with Top Rank. They are very experienced and know how to turn fantastic fighters into worldwide superstars like they have done it with Oscar De La Hoya or now with Manny Pacquiao. I live and train in Miami but Ismael is also always looking for different training camps to prepare me perfectly for every single fight.

Anson Wainwright – You were born in Guantanamo, Cuba can you tell us about how things were growing up there & how you first became interested and took up Boxing?

Yuriorkis Gamboa – Growing up in Cuba is totally different from living and growing up in the USA. We didn’t have a lot of opportunities and were very limited in our freedom. Still we managed to get along and were always happy. My father, who also is a very important part of my time now after he left Cuba, was a very good amateur boxer. I followed him to the gym and started hitting the sandbags. I wanted to be like him. That’s how I fell in love with the sport.

Anson Wainwright – You had a fantastic amateur career in which you won a Gold medal at the 2004 Olympics & a bronze at the 2005 World Championships. Can you tell us about those tournaments & other you won? Also what current pro’s did you fight & what was your final record in the amateur’s?

Yuriorkis Gamboa – As a Cuban amateur boxer losing is not an option. Whenever you enter a tournament you enter it to win it. Of course, winning the Olympic gold was still very special. It makes you very proud when you achieve something great for yourself and your country. I knew that the world was watching and it made me feel great that I could live up to the expectations and win the tournament. I think some of the guys I beat at the amateurs turned pro. My opponent in the Olympic final was Jerome Thomas from France. I heard he’s fighting professionally now, too, but I think he only had a couple of fights so far. I always meet people who I know from the amateur times every now and then.

Anson Wainwright – For you how is life different living in Miami than what it was in Cuba?

Yuriorkis Gamboa – You cannot compare living in the United States to living in Cuba. It is just completely different. But I am happy that I was able to reunite with a lot of Cuban friends in Miami. It feels great to live here.

Anson Wainwright – Can you tell us from your point of view how you came about deciding to defect from Cuba and going pro?

Yuriorkis Gamboa – Actually we hadn’t exactly planned it very thoroughly. It just happened when we got the chance to leave the team. My main problem was that I didn’t feel worshiped. We had won Olympic gold for our country but I didn’t even have enough money to buy a birthday present for my daughter. I asked myself: Why should I stay in a country where the ruling class doesn’t care about me even though I represent my country in the best possible way? It just didn’t seem to make any sense.

Anson Wainwright – Since you, Bhartelemy & Solis left several other like Lara, Rigondeaux etc have joined you. You will know several of the current top Cuban fighters. What one’s in your opinion would make the transition to the pro’s successfully if they were given the chance?

Yuriorkis Gamboa – At the moment there are a lot of great Cuban fighters showing their talent at the pros. And our fans are supporting us very well. Rigondeaux is already world champion, Lara and Solis are on their best ways and there are still a lot of young hungry guys coming up like Johnson, Dorticos, and I have signed some exceptional talents for my own promotional company: My brother Yoelvis, Humberto Savigne and Sullivan Barrera. There are a lot of excellent Cuban fighters who are ready to take over professional boxing.

Anson Wainwright – You have been on the canvas in a couple of your fights and people have questioned your chin. What are your feelings on this?

Yuriorkis Gamboa – As I said before, Ismael Salas and I are analyzing every fight very carefully. If you look at the so called knockdowns you will see that my chin is not the problem. The problem has always been that I have been caught off balance. That is something we are certainly working on.

Anson Wainwright – Away from Boxing what do you like to do? What are your hobbies, interests? What other sports do you follow and what are your teams you support?

Yuriorkis Gamboa – I love boxing. That’s why I founded my own stable in Gamboa Promotions. I am fascinated by the sport as well as by the business side of it. Apart from that I like music and cars and I love to spend my time with my family and friends. That is what is most important to me.

Anson Wainwright – Finally do you have a message for your fans and perhaps the people in Cuba?

Yuriorkis Gamboa – I want to thank all my fans for supporting me and I can only tell every boxing fan in the world to keep a close eye at ‘El Ciclon’. I will continue to work very hard to meet the expectations of all of my fans. I want to entertain all the people who love boxing as much as I do. Thank you.

Thanks for your time Yuriorkis, keep up the hard work, it’s always entertaining to see you fight.

Anson Wainwright

15rounds.com

Weekend Musings – I’ve heard from several sources that Odlanier Solis is in terrific shape ahead of his shot at Vitali Klitschko this weekend. I spoke to Middleweight star David Lemieux who was in camp with Solis. He told me Solis has lost around 30 pounds, he joked with me that he said to Solis that he had Liposuction! Solis has always had the talent but it looked like he lacked the desire to get himself into his optimum condition. If he has got himself into the best possible shape he could cause Vitali some problems this weekend…So Nonito Donaire has left Top Rank for Golden Boy, seems “The Cold War” is burning stronger than ever…After winning last weekend Miguel “Titere” Vazquez could be back defending his title in June I’m told. I hope he’s kept active, as he’s not the most known of fighters and he needs to be kept busy to raise his profile…Alejandro Gonzalez Jr 5-0-1(0) has signed with Ricky Mota and will fight on the undercard of his stable mate Giovani Segura’s rematch with Ivan Calderon. Gonzalez is just 18, fights at Bantamweight. He’s also the son of former WBC Featherweight champion of the same name. It’s hard to believe it was over 15 years ago that “Cobrita” had that terrific war with Kevin Kelley…Word is the much anticipated clash between former team mates turned bitter rivals James Degale-George Groves will take place on 21 May, for Degale’s British title & Groves Commonwealth crown. There is genuine animosity between the two, they hate each other nearly as much as Top Rank & Golden Boy!

NAVY COOL RECOGNIZED BY TRAINING MAGAZINE FOR CREDENTIALING INITIATIVES

US Fed News Service, Including US State News February 10, 2010 PENSACOLA, Fla., Feb. 9 — The U.S. Navy issued the following press release:

By Gary Nichols, Center for Information Dominance Public Affairs Navy Credentialing Opportunities On-Line (COOL) is one of several Navywide programs that helped launch the Navy into a lofty 17th place ranking in Training Magazine’s prestigious “Training Top 125” list for 2010 during an awards ceremony Feb. 1 at the San Diego Convention Center. in our site best buy mastercard

The “Training Top 125” is an annual list, which honors corporations and organizations that offer outstanding employer-sponsored workforce training and development.

This is the ninth time Training Magazine has produced its “Training Top 125” and the first time the Navy applied for and made the cut. In fact, this is the first time any military service has been included on the list.

“We get a significant number of newcomers that apply each year,” Training Magazine Editor-in-Chief Lorri Freifeld said, “but it’s unusual for an organization come in that high on the list.” That recognition helped the Navy join the ranks of prestigious, well-known and highly successful corporations that include Microsoft, Verizon, Best Buy, MasterCard, McDonald’s, Delta Airlines UPS and Home Depot.

“The Navy had really great training programs,” Freifeld said.

One of those programs is Navy COOL, which stood up at the Center for Information Dominance (CID) Corry Station in Pensacola, Fla., in 2006 and has become a widely sought-after program for both Sailors and civilians who are thinking of becoming Sailors.

Navy COOL is a centralized, Web-based hub that consolidates information from numerous sources at the federal, state and local levels on certifications, licenses, apprenticeships and growth opportunities that correspond with each Navy rating, job and occupation. go to website best buy mastercard

Navy COOL provides funding for Navy enlisted personnel to obtain civilian licenses and certifications that are closely aligned to Navy jobs or ratings.

“Credentialing within the Dept of Navy is a relatively new concept but is paying huge dividends for our Sailors who have used the program,” said Navy COOL Program Supervisor Sam Kelley.

“I am extremely proud of the outstanding work performed by our Navy COOL team,” CID Corry Station Commanding Officer Capt. Gary Edwards said. “They have done an absolutely great job of ensuring that each and every Sailor in the Navy can improve personally and professionally by having an opportunity to earn certifications.” Kelley said his team cross-linked every Navy specialty or rating with Department of Labor equivalent and ensured the Navy offered at least one civilian certification to each job within the Navy.

The end result of the pursuit of a civilian certification is that the Sailor’s individual professional knowledge and skill-set usually increases due to the extra preparation time required for certification examinations and ongoing maintenance of that certification.

“These additional skills may not necessarily be performed or taught in the Navy’s formal training pipeline,” Kelley said, “but are skills performed by the Sailors’ civilian counterparts. The real benefit to the Navy is having a Sailor with increased individual proficiency as a result of gaining and maintaining additional industry-recognized skills.” “We looked at a lot of factors both quantitatively and qualitatively,” Freifeld added. “The training the Navy conducts wasn’t just for fun or because it was nice to have. The training really helps the Navy strategically and it has demonstrable results.” For example, Navy COOL reports more than 2,800 Sailors have reenlisted, which have been directly attributed to them taking advantage of Navy COOL. According to Kelley, the return on investment or “cost avoidance,” since the Navy kept these Sailors instead of losing them to the civilian sector, to date has exceeded $280 million.

Perhaps just as impressive is the high pass rate of 96 to 98 percent for voluntary licenses and certifications among Sailors, compared to the national average pass rate of 75 to 80 percent.

“This tells us the program is exceeding all expectations,” Kelley added. “This program is a definite win for the Sailor, the Navy and the civilian Department of Labor workforce.”

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