Yuriorkis Gamboa may have been coming off of a long layoff from boxing action, but he didn't disappoint fans in his return. He earned a unanimous decision victory over Michael Farenas on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez IV.
Gamboa put on a full display of his quickness and elusive defense as he consistently strung together combinations and dodged Farenas' counter shots.
It wasn't all smooth sailing for Gamboa, though. Farenas was able to floor Gamboa once. Ultimately, it wasn't enough to overcome Gamboa's two knockdowns.
Here's a full recap of Gamboa's decision victory as it happened.
Round 1
Gamboa showed little signs of ring rust in the early going.
Despite the lengthy sabbatical from action, he wasn't afraid to let his hands go and was rewarded with successful combinations early on.
Farenas attempted to counter with some power shots of his own but was swinging at the air most of the time.
Gamboa established an early lead, often winning exchanges two to one.
Round 2
Both fighters came out swinging in the second frame.
Gamboa came forward with combinations once again, but he paid for it with some tough counters from Farenas.
Gamboa's punching in combinations paid off as he scored the first knockdown of the night, landing a swift four-punch combo that sent Farenas to the canvas.
10-8 round for Gamboa.
Round 3
The third round saw Gamboa come out aggressive once again as he continued to pepper Farenas with combinations.
A headbutt from Gamboa put a short stop to the fight and opened up a cut on Farenas.
Farenas remained dangerous with big counterpunch attempts, but Gamboa was able to side step them for the most part. Gamboa's speed and power once again got the better of Farenas.
Round 4
Gamboa opened up with a ferocious combination to the body, and once again Farenas was left swinging at the air as Gamboa moved out of range.
Farenas would answer with a few power shots that landed flush on Gamboa's chin to make the round a bit more interesting than the others.
The shots from Farenas seemed to have slowed Gamboa down for much of the round as he slowed down the pace of his attack, but Farenas failed to capitalize.
Overall, Farenas' best round as he did more damage than Gamboa.
Round 5
Gamboa once again came out aggressive early in the round and seemed unaffected by the strong round from Farenas.
Both fighters engaged in some heavy exchanges as Farenas started to go to the body more and was warned for a low blow.
Farenas appeared to have taken another round as Gamboa once again slowed down as the round came to a close and Farenas landed more shots to the body.
Round 6
The action took a lull in this round as both fighters seemed to have slowed their pace.
Farenas did land some more power shots as Gamboa's movement wasn't as elusive as he was in the first half of the fight.
Tough round to call, but it looked like Farenas did enough to take it.
Round 7
Gamboa came out guns a-blazing in the seventh round as he was quick to put the slow sixth round behind him.
A quick combo to the head put Farenas down for the second time in the fight.
Farenas got up from the knockdown and immediately went to work with more power shots, but Gamboa was once again able to evade him.
Gamboa really seemed to have gained confidence as he ended the round with his hands at his sides consistently slipping punches from Farenas.
Round 8
Gamboa's confidence shined in the early moments of Round 8 as he worked the body of Farenas with combinations and got back to moving like he did in the beginning of the fight.
Farenas' movements began to slow down as he was resigned to walking down Gamboa before unloading power shots that were far from landing.
Definitely another round for Gamboa as he left Farenas frustrated time and time again.
Round 9
Gamboa maintained control in the early going of this round, calmly picking apart Farenas with quick combinations.
Gamboa started to unload on Farenas as it appeared he was ready to put him away before Farenas landed a huge counter left that floored a stunned Gamboa.
Farenas' knockdown definitely breathed life into the crowd as it was his best moment of the fight to that point. It appeared Gamboa was in a position to end the fight before Farenas stunned him with the knockdown.
Due to the knockdown, Farenas won the round, 10-8.
Round 10
Gamboa appeared to have recovered from the surprise knockdown as Round 10 started with more of the same.
Farenas tagged Gamboa with some power shots to the chin once again as Gamboa started to cover up a bit more as the round drew to an end.
This was a close round, but Gamboa did enough at the start of the round to secure a slight edge.
Round 11
Round 11 got off to a slow start as Gamboa stayed on the outside while Farenas stalked him on the outside once again.
Gamboa picked at Farenas on the outside, once again outpacing Farenas, but wasn't able to land the combinations with enough power to really hurt him.
Farenas once again landed some body blows, but not nearly enough to make an impression on the judges. It was another round that Gamboa won simply by staying busy.
Round 12
The final round was marked more by clinching than anything else as both fighters tied up multiple times.
Gamboa continued to pick Farenas apart on the outside with jabs and elusive defense as there were no issues with his cardio after all the time off.
Gamboa's combinations got the best of Farenas' once again as his production seemed to slow to an all-fight low.
Overall, Gamboa looked impressive for his first fight in more than a year. Farenas displayed a lot of heart by continuing to press forward, but his power punching wasn't enough as he was consistently outpointed.
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