Yuri Gamboa's trainer has 'no idea' why he missed Monday's press conference in Miami. (Martin Rose/Getty Images)

The highly anticipated April fight between Brandon Rios and Yuri Gamboa is in jeopardy and frankly, no one knows why. On Monday, Gamboa was a no-show for his press conference in Miami to promote the bout, a press conference his promoter, Top Rank, says Gamboa specifically asked for.

“I’m totally confused,” said Gamboa’s trainer, Emanuel Steward. “I called [co-promoter] Ahmet Ohner and he told me he was having problems. What I gathered from Ahmet is that he doesn’t have much control over the situation. He seemed very frustrated.”

Steward, who just returned from training unified heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, said the plan was for him to begin working with Gamboa after Andy Lee’s fight on March 10th. Now, Steward reiterated, “I have no idea what is going to happen.”

Complicating the situation is the possible involvement of Floyd Mayweather. On Monday night David Levi, Mayweather’s personal assistant, posted a picture on Twitter of Gamboa working out at Mayweather’s boxing gym. Last month Roger Mayweather reportedly told boxingscene.com that Gamboa had signed a promotional deal with Mayweather Promotions.

Top Rank President Todd duBoef says that not only does Gamboa have an ironclad promotional contract with Top Rank, but the two sides recently agreed to an extension.

Top Rank issued a press release Monday confirming Tuesday’s scheduled press conference in Los Angeles to promote Rios-Gamboa will go on as planned.

Said duBoef, “We’re expecting him to be there.”

– Chris Mannix

LAS VEGAS — Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward has a message for anyone at 130 pounds: Watch out for Yuri Gamboa.

“He is so gifted and coordinated, it’s phenomenal,” said Steward, who was hired to replace Ismael Salas as Gamboa’s trainer last month. “He can be electrifying. He has the makeup of a champion, and I like that.”

Over the years, Steward has developed a reputation as a jab master, built largely on the success of heavyweight champions Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko. Though Steward says he will work on Gamboa’s jab, he doesn’t expect to make any major changes.

“I like knockouts,” Steward said. “I got that [jab master] label because of Wladimir but as a rule I like knockouts. You need a jab, I don’t care how old you are or tall you are. I want to improve his left hook a little. I want to get him to turn it like Miguel Cotto or Julio Cesar Chavez. I’ll show him a few trick moves and then leave him alone. Anything I can dream of, he can do. Some guys you dream of them doing things and they can’t. Not him.”

Steward says Gamboa’s next fight will be in January at 130 pounds. Steward says he would like Gamboa (21-0) to stay at 135 for a few fights before making the jump to 135.

“I think 135 is about it,” Steward said. “He’s only 5-5. And when you fight at 135, a lot of guys come in at 150.”

One fight that Gamboa’s promoter Top Rank has said they are interested in is a matchup with 135-pound champion Brandon Rios. However Steward says he is not interested in that fight.

“I don’t like that fight right now,” Steward says. “Gamboa needs a few fights at 130. Besides, they are both big stars in the sport. We have such a shortage of young fighters. All of the stars are in their 30’s. We need to take time to develop young superstars and not just run them out and have them fight each other so quickly. It’s not good for the business.”

There is a big fight for Gamboa at 130 pounds: Adrien Broner, the former U.S. amateur standout who will fight for a vacant super featherweight title on Nov. 26. Both Gamboa (16 knockouts) and Broner (17 KO’s) have tremendous power. A matchup in the spring of 2012 would be a spectacular fight.

– Chris Mannix

Yuriorkis Gamboa (above) cruised to a technical-decision victory over Daniel Ponce de Leon in Atlantic City. (Martin Rose/Bongarts/Getty Images)

ATLANTIC CITY — Three quick thoughts on Yuri Gamboa’s win over Daniel Ponce de Leon.

• Gamboa looked good. He could have looked better. Gamboa showcased all his talents on Saturday: speed, power, speed (worth mentioning twice) and an improved defense. He outclassed Ponce de Leon in every possible way. But he didn’t seem interested in taking too many chances. Maybe he was wary of Ponce de Leon’s power, maybe he was trying to prove he was a well-rounded boxer and didn’t need to recklessly charge in. Kudos to Gamboa for a dominating win but it would have been nice to see him take more of the openings Ponce de Leon — who is very limited defensively — was giving him.

• Moving up to 130 pounds … and beyond. Gamboa and his co-promoter, Ahmet Ohner, both said this was his last fight at featherweight. While that rules out a showdown with longtime featherweight titleholder Chris John, it does open up some interesting possibilities. Adrien Broner is really the only marketable opponent at 130 pounds — fat chance Golden Boy puts their prized American prospect in with Gamboa anytime soon, either — but at 135 pounds, there are options. Juan Manuel Marquez is the undisputed top dog at lightweight, though there are no guarantees he will go back there after his welterweight fight with Manny Pacquiao. Brandon Rios is an extremely appealing possibility, while a Kevin Mitchell or Ricky Burns fight would probably do well overseas. Then there is fellow featherweight Juan Manuel Lopez, who could be ready to move up soon as well. A Lopez-Gamboa fight has been talked about for a long time and would be a huge fight in New York City.

• Ponce de Leon wanted out. Officially, this was a medical stoppage. Unofficially, it sure looked like Ponce de Leon didn’t want any more of Gamboa. Certainly, a cut on the forehead can affect a fighter: blood trickles down into your eye and you can’t pick up the punches. But as cuts go, this one didn’t appear that bad. The bleeding had stopped by the time the judges read the scores. I spotted Ponce de Leon in the hotel lobby after the fight and he didn’t have any kind of bandage on. This was a huge opportunity for Ponce de Leon and even though he was down on the scorecards, he has the one-punch power to win the fight. The doctor’s decision is the doctor’s decision but it would have been nice to see Ponce de Leon act like he wanted the fight to continue.

– Chris Mannix