Kambala fights to majority draw

The former UNLV basketball standout fought an uphill battle to post a four-round majority draw against heavyweight Alvaro Morales in his professional boxing debut Friday at The Orleans.

“I didn’t really know what to expect with it being my first (pro) fight,” the 6-foot-9-inch, 271-pound Kambala said. “But it’s more condensed, more intense than basketball. I love the spirit of it. It’s just you and the other guy.”

Judge Robert Hoyle had Kambala winning 40-36, and judges Jerry Roth and C.J. Ross both scored the fight 38-38.

Morales (1-0-3) showed good defense against Kambala’s jab, and he hurt Kambala in the second round with a right hand to the head that opened a gash under Kambala’s left eye.

Kambala admitted he wasn’t in peak shape after a left high ankle sprain suffered around Christmastime sidelined him from training for 10 days

But he got a second wind and took the fight to Morales in the fourth round, cutting him around his left eye and earning the draw in the process.

“At least I didn’t lose,” Kambala said. “I needed to get this one over with. I needed to get it out of my system. Now I can relax and have fun.”

Richard Steele, who has been working with Kambala since he took up the sport last spring, said there’s definitely room for improvement.

“I give him a C-plus,” Steele said. “I know what he can do. It was as if he were in a daze. He was thinking too much about what he wanted to do instead of just doing it.”

This was only Kambala’s third time in the ring. He had two amateur fights before turning pro.

He was hoping to fight six to nine times as an amateur but lost his amateur status because he had played basketball professionally.

“We’ll try to get him back in the ring in the next 30 days,” Steele said. “Right now, he needs rounds.”

Kambala said he’ll put the knowledge from Friday to good use next time.

“I learned so much,” he said. “It’s going to get better, trust me.”

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