A brief round-up of the weekend's action;

GAMBOA AND LOPEZ SCORE BIG WINS

Rising Cuban star Yuriorkis Gamboa retained his WBA featherweight title Saturday with a sizzling second-round knockout of Tanzania's Rogers Mtagwa. On the same card, Puerto Rico's Juan Manuel Lopez knocked out Steven Luevano in the seventh round, claiming the World Boxing Organization belt. Lopez improved to 28-0 with 25 KOs. Gamboa, a 2004 Olympic gold medallist for Cuba, also remained unbeaten, improving to 17-0 with 15 wins inside the distance, and he overwhelmed Mtagwa.

His first blow stunned Mtagwa, and he knocked the challenger down with 15 seconds remaining in the round. Gamboa, displaying devastating combinations, sent Mtagwa down again in the middle of the second round, and finished him off shortly thereafter. "We knew he was fast but we felt we could handle his speed," said Mtagwa's trainer Joe Parella, whose fighter fell to 26-14-2. "The game plan was to go three rounds, battle through it, but Mtagwa got caught early." Mtagwa had taken Puerto Rico's Lopez the distance in October, but Lopez was overpowering against Luevano.

He rocked Luevano early in the seventh, then backed him up against the ropes and let fly with a combination that ended with a big left that sent Luevano down. Luevano managed to rise, but referee Benji Esteves called a halt. The bout drew a who's who of Puerto Rican fighters, including former five-time champion Felix Trinidad and former welterweight champion Miguel Cotto. The card, at Madison Square Garden's smaller arena, marked the second time Top Rank promotions had put Lopez and Gamboa on the same card, and Gamboa indicated he would be ready to take on the Puerto Rican. "I'd love for whoever the public or maybe the press considers the number one featherweight, to have him in the ring for my next fight," he said. "That way I can show who is the best."