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Steve KimESPN
WBC lightweight titlist Devin Haney will defend his belt against Yuriorkis Gamboa on Nov. 7, and former middleweight titlist Daniel Jacobs will face Gabriel Rosado in a super middleweight contest on Nov. 27.
Both cards will take place behind closed doors at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood in Florida and be streamed by DAZN.
Haney (24-0, 15 KOs) last fought Nov. 9, when he scored a 12-round unanimous decision over Alfredo Santiago before undergoing right shoulder surgery. Gamboa (30-3, 18 KOs), a former unified featherweight champion, is a veteran fighter who is coming off a 12th-round TKO loss to Gervonta Davis in December while challenging for the vacant WBA lightweight world title.
“Yuriorkis Gamboa is a dangerous and experienced fighter,” Haney said in a news release Friday. “He’s a former unified world champion, and he has been in the ring with some of the best. He hurt Terence Crawford with a big shot, so his power is not to be ignored. He beat Orlando Salido, who beat Vasiliy Lomachenko.”
Haney won the interim WBC lightweight belt with a fourth-round TKO victory over Zaur Abdullaev in September 2019. Haney was elevated to full titleholder when Lomachenko was relieved of the belt and named the WBC “franchise champion.” After Haney suffered a right shoulder injury in the fight against Santiago, the WBC named Haney its champion in recess, but it reinstalled Haney as the titleholder four months later.
Jacobs (36-3, 30 KOs) kicked off his super middleweight campaign in December with a fifth-round TKO victory against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Rosado (25-12-1, 14 KOs) is a seasoned fighter who has taken on a plethora of big names in the past, including Gennadiy Golovkin, Jermell Charlo, Peter Quillin, David Lemieux, Martin Murray and Maciej Sulecki.
For the past year or two, Jacobs and Rosado have been jawing at each other.
“Gabe talked his way into this fight, and now it’s time to see if he can back it up,” Jacobs said. “He’s got a big mouth and he’s been bringing up my name constantly for over a year, but on Nov. 27 the talking stops, and I can’t wait to shut him up. My aim is to become a two-division world champion in 2021, and that starts with a big win in Florida. After that, I’m ready to step up and fight one of the world champions at 168 pounds.”
Rosado, who defeated Humberto Gutierrez Ochoa by unanimous decision in December, is looking forward to facing Jacobs.
“There’s been a lot of back-and-forth between me and Jacobs, and for the fight to finally happen, I’m more than ready,” Rosado said. “I’ve started training camp with Freddie Roach in L.A. at Wild Card Boxing, and I’m just looking to put on one hell of a show for the fans. I’m definitely going to bring the fight to Danny, and it’s going to be great.”