Unbeaten fighter Gamboa goes after Salido

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Like a subway commuter heading to work, Yuriorkis Gamboa wanted to arrive at the world featherweight championship as quickly as possible.

He skipped the local path and took the express train.

Gamboa’s journey to the WBA belt lasted only 15 stops. He makes his fourth title defense tonight when he faces IBF champ Orlando Salido in the main event of Top Rank’s pre-Mexican Independence Day card at the Palms.

“I knew I had the background to move up quick,” Gamboa said through an interpreter. “I fought so often as an amateur, I knew I was ready to be a professional.

“It has worked out perfectly. It’s been real hard work to get where I’m at. I’m very pleased to be at the elite level. But it wasn’t easy. And now that I am champion, I find that it is harder to stay champion than it was to become champion.”

A 2004 Olympic gold medalist for Cuba at 112 pounds, Gamboa had 245 amateur fights before turning pro in 2007. Since then, he is 18-0 with 15 knockouts.

Despite his perfect record, his path hasn’t been easy. Gamboa suffered knockdowns three times early in his career, and he said he was careless at times.

“I always looked at those as flash knockdowns,” he said. “I wasn’t in the right place and I was off balance, and it was a learning experience for me. But I think I’ve done a better job of making sure I don’t get hit and I think my defense has gotten better.

“I think in my first year, there was a lot of amateurism in me. But in the last year or two, I’m much more professional with everything I do. I think my defense is improved. My combinations with my punches are more accurate.”

Salido (34-10-2, 22 knockouts) figures to test Gamboa’s defense. He is a hard puncher who can also take a shot.

“He’s one of those guys you have to show everything against,” Gamboa said. “You can’t depend on just one thing. He is an elite fighter”

A victory over Salido would not only give Gamboa two belts, it would probably set up a fight against friend and WBO champion Juan Manuel Lopez next year, as long as Lopez beats Rafael Marquez on Nov. 6 at the MGM Grand Garden. Lopez will attend tonight’s fight at The Pearl.

“We’ve been to each other’s fights,” Gamboa said of the Puerto Rican fighter. “It’s a sign of respect we have for each other. But the objective is to demonstrate I am the best of all the champions. This is the perfect opportunity to fight another champion (Salido) and show I am the best of them all. Slowly but surely, we’ll show that.”

■ NOTES — First bell for today’s undercard is at 4 p.m. The televised portion begins at 6 with the main event scheduled to start at 8. … Former welterweight champ Antonio Margarito will attend the card in support of training partner Brandon Rios, who faces Anthony Peterson in the WBA lightweight title eliminator. Margarito faces Manny Pacquiao on Nov. 13 in Arlington, Texas, for the vacant WBC junior middleweight title.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.