DONAIRE SAYS PE?ALOSA IS HIS IDOL
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 15 Aug 2007
IBF/IBO flyweight champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire says newly crowned WBO bantamweight champion Gerry Penalosa “is my idol. I look up to him. He’s a legend.”
Donaire made the comment on the popular US boxing show Ring Talk hosted by Pedro Fernandez and heard worldwide after he was asked what he thought about a possible fight with Penalosa which Kevin Perry said would be a great fight in the Philippines.
Donaire said “I don’t see myself doing that because I have so much respect for him. But if it happens, I’ve always been the type of person where boxing is boxing, business is business and friendship is friendship outside the ring. I have looked up to Gerry all my life and I don’t see myself fighting him at all.”
The man who wants to fight Penalosa as soon as possible is Jhonny Gonzales from whom Penalosa won the WBO bantamweight title with a stunning seventh round KO in the World Cup of boxing at the Arco Arena in Sacramento last Saturday.
Boxinng writer Chris Cozzone of Fight News says Gonzales’ manager Oswaldo Kuchle hopes to close a contract deal for a rematch with Golden Boy Promotions hopefully for October.
Gonzales manager claimed that his fighter doesn’t have a scar on his face adding that he ”made a mistake in not protecting himself, enabling Penalosa to land that ‘one in a million’ shot” when Gonzales was ahead on the scorecards of two of the three judges when the 35 year old southpaw took him out with a cracking shot to the liver.
Kuchle indicated he was talking to Mexico’s largest TV network Televisa in the hope that the rematch could be held in Mexico before Gonzales moves up in weight to super bantam or featherweight since he is having a hard time making the 118 pound limit.
Penalosa is scheduled to arrive aboard a Philippine Airlines flight from Los Angeles early Thursday morning along with trainer Freddie Roach who is expected to take a connecting flight to Cebu where Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao plans to continue his training for the October 6 rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera.
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