On Saturday night, three fights of interest will transpire in the superbantamweight and featherweight divisions.
Puerto Rico's WBO superbantamweight (122-pounds) champion, Juan Manuel Lopez (pictured left) and WBA featherweight (126) king Yuriorkis Gamboa (middle) will be involved in two of them at the WaMu Theatre in New York's Madision Square Garden, with Mexican-born 126-pounder, Israel Vazquez (right) being in the third at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles.
Depending on the results, any of the three boxers could soon wind up in the ring opposite each other.
A 27-year-old Cuban-born featherweight, Miami's Gamboa (15-0, 13 KOs) will be after his sixth consecutive knockout and the 14th in his past 15 fights when he puts his crown on the line against Panama's Whyber Garcia (22-6, 15 KOs).
Promoted by Top Rank, as is Lopez, Gamboa was a 2004 Olympic gold medalist.
"Just by being in the storied building means that I am achieving my goals," said Gamboa, who has stopped nine opponents in two rounds or less. "I have to win the fights and win convincingly to get to where I want to get ... bigger fights and bigger paydays."
If Gamboa takes care of business, he will probably take a ringside seat from which to watch Lopez (26-0) pursue his 25th knockout against Tanzanian native Rogers Mtagwa (26-12-2, 18 KOs) of Philadelphia in defense of his WBO super bantamweight (122) title.
Although Gamboa also has entertained thoughts of a ring matchup with 126-pound WBA champion Chris John (43-0-2, 22 KOs) of Indonesia, he is more likely to wait and see what Lopez does over his next couple of fights.
Lopez is 2-0 with one knockout at Madison Square Garden.
"A lot of people are talking about Gamboa, but I don't think about that. I think about my next fight. The Gamboa fight may happen but that is far down the road," said Lopez, who may also pursue a 122-pound unification matchup with WBA and IBF champ Celestino Caballero (33-2, 23 KOs) of Panama.
"I'd like to win four titles in four weight divisions, something no Puerto Rican has ever done," said Lopez. "That is my goal. I feel like I will go to 126 sooner rather than later."
Looking to bring similar excitement to the Garden as his Puerto Rican countrymen, Miguel Cotto and Felix Trinidad, Lopez has 14 consecutive knockouts, including April's10th-round stoppage over former world champion Gerry Penalosa.
Penalosa (54-7-2, 36 KOs) had never been knocked out prior to the bout with Lopez.
"My idol is and always has been Tito Trinidad. We have become real good friends and he calls me all the time and we talk about everything," said Lopez, adding that Trinidad "has been to most of my title fights.
"[Trinidad] tells me about the great experiences he has had at the Garden. I get excited when he talks about the fights he has had here and that is why I am so excited to fight here and follow in his footsteps."
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Vazquez (43-4, 31 KOs) will end a 19-month layoff resulting from a detatched retina suffered during the final bout of his illustrious trilogy with Mexico City's Rafael Marquez.
Vazquez was stopped in seven by Marquez before winning by sixth-round knockout and split decision, respectively, and then required three operations to repair the damage to his left eye.
A former superbantamweight, Vazquez rises to featherweight, where he'll meet Colombia's Angel Antonio Priolo (30-7,20 KOs), who has been stopped five times over the course of six, consecutive losses.
"One of my motivating factors is that I want to give back to the fans. You guys can see on Oct. 10 if I'm the same Israel," Vazquez told FanHouse's Elie Seckbach.
"I sometimes can't believe the heights that I have reached in boxing. And now with this new found life, being able to box again, I feel that there is so much more that I can achieve."
