Andrew Fruman recaps Saturday night's HBO double-header featuring Yuriorkis Gamboa vs Roger Mtagwa and Juan Manuel Lopez vs Steven Luevano.

Juan Manuel Lopez took care of business – and looked reasonably good in the process – but it was Yuriorkis Gamboa that stole the show.

The lightning quick, big punching Olympian was in dynamite form as he led off the HBO double-header by blowing out the always game Roger Mtagwa in less than 2 rounds.

The same Mtagwa that just 3 months ago pushed Juan Manuel Lopez to the brink. No such run at a Cinderella tale this time for the Tanzanian born Philly fighter, as right from the start it was clear that Gamboa was just too fast.

Swiftly moving about the ring and looking more responsible defensively than usual, Gamboa landed hard left hooks and stinging right hands almost at will. After catching Mtagwa clean on a couple occasions in the first minute, he staggered the rugged journeyman with a hard left hook just past the 1 minute mark.

Undaunted by the great speed disparity, Mtagwa pressed forward, but couldn’t catch the Cuban who remained elusive despite standing his ground for the most part. By rounds end, Gamboa had scored a knockdown – a cobra like lead left hook did the trick, catching Mtagwa high on the forehead.

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Michael Nelson previews Saturday night's featherweight match-up between Juan Manuel Lopez and Steve Luevano.

Check out Bad Left Hook for Fight Night Coverage of Lopez vs Luevano and Gamboa vs Mtagwa.

The questions answered during Juan Manuel Lopez' dominant performance over Gerry Penalosa last April will need to be revisited tonight in Madison Square Garden, against featherweight WBO titlist Steven Luevano. Namely, how will the sometimes one-dimensional Puerto Rican puncher deal with a sharp boxer?

While Lopez did a fine job displaying a multi-faceted attack while steamrolling the smaller Penalosa, there are key differences between Penalosa and Luevano.

For one, the 28 year old Los Angeles, California native will be the first skilled opponent that's noticeably bigger than Lopez. And while Luevano has a KO percentage that resides below 40, he has enough pop to stagger or drop a reckless foe. If Juanma doesn't attack intelligently, he may end up on his pants.

Two, Penalosa spent much of the bout last year on the ropes while Lopez teed off on him, taking apart the older man's guard with thudding body punches and searing uppercuts. Luevano will use his feet far more than Gerry did. Ideally, he'll be looking to set up traps while circling away from Lopez' vaunted right hook.

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