The Cuban boxer Yuriorkis Gamboa, Olympic and world champion known as "The Cyclone of Guantánamo," visited his home province to deliver a donation of clothing and combat gear to the boxing team.
The Provincial Sports Directorate announced the visit on its official Facebook page, where it described him as "a professional boxer with great results."
The official statement emphasized that the donation "has the personal stamp of Guantánamo": "Guerrilleros del Guaso."
For his part, Gamboa expressed that it is a satisfaction to be able to help develop boxing in the province that saw him grow.
The team is going through a strong competitive phase: in 2025, they finished first in the qualifying round of the National Boxing Series, held in Holguín, with 202 points and 15 boxers qualified in ten divisions.
However, like the rest of Cuban sports, the team faces severe material shortages, which makes Gamboa's contribution—training and combat equipment—a tangible support for the new generations trying to follow in his footsteps.
Born in Guantánamo on December 23, 1981, he trained at the Cuban boxing school and won the gold medal at the Athens 2004 Olympics in the flyweight division, as well as the Pan American title in Santo Domingo in 2003 and four national championships in Cuba.
After defecting in 2006 during a training camp in Venezuela, he built an elite professional career: four world titles in three different divisions—Featherweight, Super Featherweight, and Lightweight—and an impressive record of 30 wins (18 by knockout) and six losses, facing rivals such as Terence Crawford, Gervonta Davis, and Devin Haney.
The 44-year-old boxer went through one of the most difficult periods of his life after a fatal traffic accident that occurred in December 2022 in the Songo-La Maya tunnel, in Santiago de Cuba.
Gamboa was stranded in Cuba for more than a year and a half, with his passport confiscated by the authorities, until on August 12, 2024, a judge acquitted him and he was able to return to Miami.
Back in the United States, he returned to the ring with determination.
In May 2026, he returned to professional boxing in Fort Lauderdale, where he lost by split decision to Alexander Espinoza in his first fight in four years.
He then signed with the BKB organization for bare-knuckle boxing and on August 29th successfully debuted in that discipline at the BKB 58 event held in Miami, where he won by unanimous decision (50-44) against the Nicaraguan Yesner "Cuajadita" Talavera.
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