Fans Unite to Cheer for the Cuban Boxer Gamboa Using #animogamboa

Imágenes como estas fueron compartidas por los usuarios en Facebook (Fotos publicadas por la página Los Pichy Boys)

Images like these were shared by Facebook users (Photographs published by Los Pichy Boys)

Professional Cuban boxer, Yuriorkis Gamboa, currently living in the United States, lost to the World Boxing Organization's lightweight champion Terence Crawford by knockout last Saturday at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha city. In light of his very emotional public statements, asking for forgiveness, his fans overflowed social media sites with support using the hashtag #animogamboa.

“Terence Crawford took him down four times and knocked him out for the win in the ninth round, in front of 10,943 fans, who turned Omaha into the boxing capital for one night,” was stated in El Nuevo Herald.

Before the fight, Gamboa shared on his official Facebook page,

Mi último post en FACEBOOK hasta mañana después de la pelea. Le voy a pedir a mi Equipo que los mantenga al tanto pero por ahora lo mejor es que duerma porque ya estoy listo. Lo único que queda es pelear (…) Gracias a todos por su apoyo.

This is my last FACEBOOK post until tomorrow after the fight. I will ask my team to keep you updated, but for now, it's best that I go to sleep, I am ready. The only thing left to do is fight (…) Thank you all for your support.

After hearing the result of the fight and criticism about his training, Gamboa responded with the following statement

Perdóneme si los hice quedar mal. Yo traté de hacerlo lo mejor posible. Lo siento con mucha sinceridad (…) En cuanto al tema de mi entrenador solo digo esto. Mi padre ha estado a mi lado toda mi vida. Fue él quien sembró mi amor por el Boxeo, fue él quien me puso mis primeros guantes así como los últimos. Fue mi padre quien me enseñó a fajarme y a mover mis pies sobre el cuadrilátero, fue mi padre quien estuvo a mi lado desde los 6 años gritándome lo que tenía o no que hacer. Que yo a veces le deje de hacer caso es otra cosa. Pero en esas ocasiones, la responsabilidad es mía no de él. Anoche perdí una batalla, y por lo mismo me siento terriblemente mal porque sé que muchos confiaban en mi victoria.

Forgive me if I came up short. I did the best I could. I sincerely  apologize (…) As for my trainer, I can only say the following. My father has been by my side my entire life. He was the one that instilled my love for boxing, he is the one who put my first pair of gloves on me, as well as the last. It was my father who taught me how to wrap myself and how to shuffle my feet, he was the one who was besides me since I was 6 years old, yelling at me, telling me what to do and what not to do. At times, I may not do as he says. But during those times, I am  the one responsible, not he. Last night I lost a battle, and for that same reason, I feel terrible, as I know many people believed I could be the winner.

On the other hand, the Cuban boxer's fans shared photos on Facebook and Twitter using #animogamboa.

Gamboa es conocido como "El ciclón de Guantánamo"

Gamboa is know as “El ciclón de Guantánamo” or “Guantanamo's Cyclone”

As an amateur boxer, Gamboa won the Olympic gold medal, in the flyweight division, in Athens 2004.

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