ERIC GOMEZ: PE?ALOSA IS INCREDIBLE
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 10 Mar 2008
Golden Boy Promotions vice president and international matchmaker Eric Gomez describes WBO bantamweight champion Gerry Penalosa as ?incredible.?
Gomez made the statement in an overseas telephone conversation with Viva Sports/Manila Standard after a visit to Freddie Roach?s Wild Card Gym where he watched Penalosa train for his mandatory defense against former foe Ratanachai Sor Vorapin, the former world champion who had lost the title tp Mexico's Jhonny Gonzalez, the fighter from whom Penalosa won the crown. Vorapin has a record of 72-9 ith 48 knockouts.
Gomez noted ?Penalosa is older than I am but he is just in tremendous shape all the time and he was beating up some young kids at the gym.? Penalosa is 35.
Gomez said the sparring partners belonged to a group of young fighters that Roach has in his gym and he was sparring with lefties because Vorapin is a southpaw and is ?also looking very, very good.?
The Penalosa-Vorapin world title fight will be staged by the giant broadcast network ABS-CBN in cooperation with Golden Boy Promotions and the ALA Gym whose two young stars AJ ?Bazooka? Banal and Rey? Boom Boom? Bautista will be featured on the undercard in what may well be career-defining fights.
The undefeated Banal (16-0, 13 KO?s) battles unbeaten WBC Latino super flyweight champion Caril Herrera (21-0, 13 KO?) while Bautista (24-1, 17 KO?s) defends his WBO Intercontinental super bantamweight title against Genargo Camargo who has a record of 16-3 with 10 knockouts.
Penalosa has been training for some time now at the Wild Card Gym in preparation for a defense of the title he won by a sensational one-punch knockout over Jhonny Gonzalez in the Philippines-Mexico World Cup of boxing in Sacramento last August. The Philippines won the showdown 5-1.
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