Ex champion who fought Crawford, Haney and Davis announces fighting return after 4 years out

A former rival of Terence Crawford, Devin Haney and Gervonta Davis is set to make a surprise return to competitive action after four years away.

Yuriorkis Gamboa was tipped by many for huge things in the sport, but came up short in his three battles with the aforementioned trio of Crawford, Haney and Davis, and last competed back in April 2022 in a loss to Isaac Cruz.

The Olympic Gold Medalist held the WBA featherweight title and the WBA interim lightweight title during his campaign, but came up short in winning a full version of a belt at 135lbs when he stepped up to challenge Crawford, before further bids at lightweight were foiled in the battles with Haney and ‘Tank.’

Gamboa will now attempt to find success in a new discipline altogether, after it was announced that the 44-year-old from Cuba will make the switch to BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing, much to his delight.

“Bare knuckle boxing is the oldest form of boxing. After winning an Olympic gold medal, world championships in boxing, now I’m focused and excited to become BKB Bare Knuckle World Champion. I’m going to showcase my skills and show why I belong at the very top of this sport.”

BKB Bare Knuckle founder Mike Vasquez also commented on the signing of Gamboa.

“It’s an honour to welcome Yurorkis to bare knuckle, and I can’t wait to see his skills and pedigree on display in the trigon. We’ve got some incredible Cuban fighters on our roster, including our heavyweight world champion. This year we’re going to see more and more elite fighters join our global roster of over 200 fighters from over 30 countries.”

Gamboa’s debut in the promotion is expected to be announced soon.