YURIORKIS GAMBOA, a Cuban based in Las Vegas representing Miami, was named a controversial decision winner over of Camden, New Jersey.
Despite a deducted point for holding in the 10th, Gamboa was declared the winner by majority decision after 10 hard-fought rounds.
The scorecards varied widely for this bout. One referee scored the contest 94-94. The other two judges scored the fight for Gamboa 95-93 and 96-92.
In the ring following the fight the two fighters had this exchange:
Gamboa: “I’m sorry I didn’t give you a better match. I only had three weeks to prepare.”
Sosa: “That’s boxing”
Gamboa: “You gave a great fight. You have a great heart.”
Sosa: “It was a fun fight. I took some breaks but I thought I did enough to win. I know I did enough to win the fight. I didn’t get hurt at all during the fight. I spar with middleweights so that was nothing.”
Gamboa: “It was a good fight. I didn’t have enough time to train. I only had three weeks. I didn’t have time to get ready. I needed two or three more weeks to lose the weight correctly. Of course the decision was good. I think I won every round. Except for the knockdown and the point deduction.”