Michael Farenas Reflects on Gutsy Gamboa Showing

By Dennis "dSource" Guillermo

I caught up with jr. lightweight contender Michael Farenas, two days removed from his impressive showing against Yuriorkis Gamboa last Saturday in the undercard of Pacquiao-Marquez 4 in Las Vegas. Farenas dropped a decision loss to Gamboa, but not after taking the Cuban to the hilt. Farenas scored a devastating knock down in the 9th round, after getting dropped early in the fight.

dSource - "Talk to us about that fight."

Michael Farenas - "It was a really good fight. My conditioning was great, we had a great training camp, which enabled me to move better in the ring, and perform well. Thank you."

dSource - "Definitely! You almost knocked out Gamboa there, and had him in trouble in the latter rounds. Tell us what was going through your mind and the emotions you had when you dropped Gamboa."

Michael Farenas - "Too bad, I almost had him. I wanted to continue pouring it on and finish it, but he is really good... he knew what to do. He is truly a world champion, which is why he was able find a way to survive."

dSource - "Here's what I'm going to say though: Gamboa is considered by many as the best 130 fighter, and when you fought him, you went toe-to-toe with him, and gave him the hardest time out of anyone I've seen him fight before."

Michael Farenas - "I'm happy with my performance. I am thankful to all those who supported me, and I hope they will continue to support Philippine boxing."

dSource - "So what are your plans right now? Do you want to pursue a rematch with Gamboa?"

Michael Farenas - "I will leave that up to my promoter, my manager, on what they think is best for me to do. But I plan to take a vacation first. I need to rest a little bit, go home and spend time with my family."

dSource - "Rest and take a quick vacation back home... and have a great Christmas!"

Michael Farenas - "(laughing) Yes! It's going to be a happy Christmas, and that's why I'm thankful to everyone that supported me."

dSource - "What weaknesses did you see in Gamboa that you exploited in the fight?"

Michael Farenas - "I saw that his defense was a little bit loose, which is why we trained hard to try and exploit his weaknesses and practice how to approach it training and in sparring. Thankfully it was effective in the fight."

dSource - "Also, you yielded an advantage to him when your left eye got cut due to an accidental head-butt. Can you tell us how that affected you in the fight?"

Michael Farenas - "Yeah, and he also scored an early knock down, plus that cut that led to blood to drip in my eye and affect my vision and concentration a bit."

dSource - "Did it bother you a lot?"

Michael Farenas - "A little bit. I was able to find a way around it, but every time the blood got in my eye, it disturbed my concentration."

dSource - "And that must've hurt?"

Michael Farenas - "(laughing) Yes. That too. It hurt."

dSource - "Can you say that Gamboa is the toughest, strongest opponent you've faced?"

Michael Farenas - "Absolutely! He's strong, talented, he's definitely the best opponent I've fought."

dSource - "But even at that, you showed him your heart and your toughness and stood there with him until the end.."

Michael Farenas - "Yes. That's all I can do.. that was my key in the fight (to fight with heart and courage)."

dSource - "But if it were up to you, do you want a rematch with Gamboa?"

Michael Farenas - "I want a rematch. Definitely. But it's still up to my promoter what he wants to do.