PREDICTION PAGE: Gamboa-Salido, Peterson-Rios

THE VEGAS STRIP HEATS UP WITH A FEATHERWEIGHT TITLE

UNIFICATION SHOWDOWN WHEN HBO SPORTS® PRESENTS

HBO BOXING AFTER DARK®: YURIORKIS GAMBOA VS. ORLANDO SALIDO

AND ANTHONY PETERSON VS. BRANDON RIOS SATURDAY, SEPT. 11

HBO’s hit late-night boxing series features a featherweight clash of reigning titleholders plus a lightweight thriller when HBO BOXING AFTER DARK: YURIORKIS GAMBOA VS. ORLANDO SALIDO AND ANTHONY PETERSON VS. BRANDON RIOS is seen SATURDAY, SEPT. 11 at 10:00 p.m. (ET/PT) from the Pearl at the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, exclusively on HBO. The HBO Sports team of Bob Papa and Max Kellerman will be ringside for the event, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

Other HBO playdates: Sept. 12 (9:00 a.m.) and 13 (11:00 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates: Sept. 12 (6:00 p.m.) and 13 (12:05 a.m.)

In a battle of featherweight beltholders, Yuriorkis Gamboa (18-0, 15 KOs) of Miami, Fla. goes toe-to-toe with Orlando Salido (34-10, 22 KOs) of Sonora, Mexico in a scheduled 12-round title unification bout. On a fast track to stardom, Gamboa won a gold medal for Cuba in the flyweight boxing division at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, and captured a featherweight title after just 15 pro fights. He’s widely considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters today, with blazing hand speed, supplemented by brute power, that often puts thunderstruck opponents on the canvas in the early rounds.

Gamboa weighed in with some comments during fight week.

This is a very important fight because this is an opportunity to prove that I can defeat the champions in this division
I have worked very hard to become a better professional fighter and I think that it has shown over the last few fights. My defense is better and I am putting my combinations together much better

ON CHAMPION ORLANDO SALIDO
He a very goodfighter with a lot of professional experience, but he is not reallyat my level. My speed and powerwill be too much for him.
I know I need to work very hard to get to the level that I want to be at. Iwant to one day be considered one of the best fightersnot only in the world, but of all time.

ON CHAMPION JUAN MANUEL LOPEZ
It is a fight that is out there and when Top Rank feels that he is ready to face me he will face me. In the mean time all I have to do is beat who ever they put in front of me.

ON HEADLINING AT THE PALMS IN LAS VEGAS
Its a big opportunity for me and I want to give the fans a great fight. Its important to give the fans the best fight possible and this is what I intend to do on Saturday night.

The heavy-hitting Salido, who bypassed the amateur ranks and went straight to the pros at age 16, might be called “The Avenger, having won re-matches against all but one of the men who defeated him early in his career. He will draw on his greater experience and highly touted knockout capability against the more explosive Gamboa.

The opening bout is a 12-round lightweight clash of undefeated fighters, pitting Anthony Peterson (30-0, 20 KOs) of Memphis, Tenn. against Brandon Rios (24-0, 18 KOs) of Oxnard, Cal. in a 135-pound slugfest. These two warriors boast a combined 54-0 record, with an astonishing 38 KOs. In what could be a classic battle, Peterson hopes to use his grace, quick feet and picture-perfect technique to withstand Rios’ notorious aggression and powerful combinations.

The executive producer of HBO BOXING AFTER DARK is Rick Bernstein; producer, Jon Crystal; director, Marc Payton.

®HBO BOXING AFTER DARK and related marks are registered service mark of Home Box Office, Inc.