Joma Gamboa: Filipino Minimumweight World Champion
Jomarie “Joma” Gamboa was born in Bacolod City, Philippines, on April 25, 1973. A professional from 1993 to 2004, he won the WBA minimumweight title in 2000. PhilBoxing’s career history and the BoxRec profile document his title fights and record.
Early world title attempts
Gamboa’s first world-title challenge came in 1996, when he faced WBC light-flyweight champion Saman Sorjaturong in Thailand. Sorjaturong retained the belt with a seventh-round technical knockout. Gamboa later challenged for the WBA light-flyweight and minimumweight titles before winning the interim WBA minimumweight championship with a sixth-round stoppage of Japan’s Satoru Abe in December 1999.
WBA minimumweight champion
On August 20, 2000, Gamboa met Noel Arambulet in a rematch for the WBA minimumweight title. Arambulet had been stripped for missing weight, so the championship was at stake for Gamboa alone. Gamboa won by split decision and became champion. In his first defense, he lost a unanimous decision to Japan’s Keitaro Hoshino on December 6, 2000. The WBA’s account of Hoshino’s career confirms that title change.
Later fights and retirement
Gamboa continued boxing after losing the belt, including another title fight with Hoshino in 2002 and a WBC light-flyweight challenge against Jorge Arce in 2004. Arce stopped him in the second round. Gamboa retired after 46 professional bouts with 33 wins, 11 losses and two draws, according to the record cited by PhilBoxing.
Sources
Career records and reporting: boxinglib.com; philstar.com.
Tags
Boxing, Boxing History
