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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 9:15 p.m., Friday, April 17, 2009

Boxing: Gamboa wins WBA featherweight championship

Associated Press

PRIMM, Nev. — Undefeated Yuriorkis Gamboa captured the interim WBA featherweight championship, stopping Jose Rojas in the 10th round of a bout scheduled for 12 Friday night.

Gamboa, now 15-0 with 13 KOs, pelted the left-handed Rojas throughout the bout at Buffalo Bill's Resort & Casino and dropped him with a right to the head in the fifth round. Gamboa, of Miami, pinned Rojas in a corner and was pummeling him when referee Jay Nady halted the one-sided bout at 1:31 of the 10th round.

Gamboa, who won a gold medal for Cuba at the 2004 Athens Olympics, was comfortably ahead 90-80, 90-81 and 89-81 on the three judges' scorecards through nine rounds.

Gamboa, the WBA's No. 1 contender, had a lump under his left eye, while Rojas, of Venezuela and rated No. 2, had a large lump under his right eye. Rojas now has a record of 25-7-1 with 17 KOs. Gamboa weighed 125½ pounds, and Rojas weighed 125.

In other fights, unbeaten Selcuk Aydin of Germany took a 12-round, split decision over Said Ouali of Las Vegas for the World Boxing Council International welterweight title.

Aydin, 18-0 with 14 KOs, won on two scorecards, 116-111 and 115-112; Ouali was ahead on the other judge's card 114-112.

Aydin, ranked No. 3 by the WBC, weighed 146, the same as Ouali. Ouali, originally from Morocco and rated No. 9 by the WBC, now is 25-3. There were no knockdowns in the bout.