The ability to match Miami resident Yuriorkis Gamboa with similarly unbeaten Juan Manuel Lopez in an attractive bout last year crumbled when Lopez suffered his first career loss to Orlando Salido.

Top Rank, which co-promotes Gamboa and also represents Salido, sought to add further seasoning to a fight that fans already clamored. The strategy for additional teasing backfired after Lopez’s loss, leaving Gamboa without the mega-fight.

Nearly a year later, Gamboa finally will have a shot at another appealing and unbeaten opponent.

Gamboa (21-0, 16 KOs) will face former champion Brandon Rios (29-0-1, 22 KOs) for the vacant World Boxing Association lightweight title April 14 in Las Vegas.

With the exception of a couple of bouts early in his career, Gamboa, 30, never has fought above the 130-pound class. Instead, the native of Cuba established his presence during a two-year reign as featherweight world champion.

Elsewhere

•  Marlen Esparza, Queen Underwood and Claressa Shields became the first members of the U.S. women’s Olympic boxing team Saturday night by winning their respective weight classes in the finals of the U.S. Olympic team trials in Spokane, Wash.

They will represent the United States in the 2012 Olympics in London.

Women’s boxing will make its Olympics debut in three weight categories. Esparza, Underwood and Shields will box in the flyweight, lightweight and middleweight categories, respectively.

• Tallahassee resident Tavoris Cloud (24-0) retained his International Boxing Federation light-heavyweight title with a split decision win over Spain’s Gabriel Campillo late Saturday in Corpus Christi, Texas.

On the same card, former world welterweight champion Paul Williams won a convincing unanimous decision over Nobuhiro Ishida.

• Miami resident, Brazil native and Killian High graduate Michael Oliveira remained unbeaten (17-0) after his unanimous decision win against Sergei Melis in their middleweight bout Feb. 11 in Canada.

Heavyweight prospect, Cuba native and Miami resident Luis Ortiz (15-0) also remained unbeaten and captured a regional title with his victory by disqualification against Epifanio Mendoza Feb. 10 in Palm Bay.