PENALOSA DEFENDS WBO CROWN VS VORAPIN; BAUTISTA-CAMARGO, BANAL-HERRERA, MORALES-KIM ARE SURE HITS TOO
By Salven L. Lagumbay
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 06 Apr 2008
MANILA -- World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight champion Gerry "Fearless" Penalosa will defend his title for the first time this morning against ex-world champion Ratanachai Sor Vorapin of Thailand in a 12-round shootout at the legendary Araneta Coliseum, proud home of the greatest boxing event in history, the Thrilla in Manila.
The fight, which will be aired nationwide and globally by ABS-CBN, will be Penalosa's last hurdle toward a possible big-money fight against Daniel Ponce De Leon and other marquee names in the bantamweight and superbantamweight division.
Penalosa and Vorapin made weight during official weigh-in held yesterday morning at the Cineplex of Gateway Mall although the challenger initially checked in at 118.5 lbs. After a few minutes, Vorapin came back to the scales and hit the 118-lb limit.
The official weigh-in was attended by Golden Boy Promotions' Eric Gomez, and supervised by WBO Asia Pacific Chairman Leon Panoncillo assisted by GAB Commissioner Angel Bautista and boxing chief Nasser Cruz.
Adding drama to the event will be the presence of both superstars Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, who figured in a classic rematch on March 15.
Marquez is slated to plane in this morning on the same flight as trainer Freddie Roach, who will be in Penalosa's corner before flying out to Los Angeles to continue training Bernard Hopkins.
In the undercard, WBO Intercontinental superbantam champ Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista, 122 lbs, will defend his title against Mexican challenger Genaro Camargo, 122 lbs. Bautista had earlier stressed if he wins against Camargo, he will also shoot for a possible rematch with Daniel Ponce De Leon who stopped him in the first round at the World Cup last year.
In a battle of undefeated prospects, someone's "O" has got to go as AJ "Bazooka" Banal and Uruguay's Caril Herrera take on each other in a 12-round scrap serving as an IBF superflyweight eliminator with the winner getting the top contender status.
Australia's Ray Wheatley supervised the weigh-in yesterday in behalf of the IBF, assisted by GAB's Nasser Cruz and other personnel.
WBO Oriental champion Ciso "Kid Terrible" Morales, a prized find from Bohol, takes on Korean challenger Yoo Shin Kim who had to spend about an hour to shed off a 1-lb extra baggage before finally making weight yesterday.
The rest of the match-ups and their weights: Michael Domingo (119.5) vs Thepnimit Sor Chitpattana (120 lbs); Bert Batawang (108 lbs) vs Heri Amol (107 lbs); John Mark Apolinario (116 lbs) vs Jessie Albaracin (115 lbs); Eric Macas (126 lbs) vs Rene Bucag (125.5 lbs).
The official rules meeting was presided over by both Panoncillo of the WBO and Wheatley of IBF, while GAB boxing chief Nasser Cruz delineated the basic rules to the officials.
First bout starts at 7:30 this morning at the Araneta Coliseum, while television broadcast comes off at 9AM over ABS-CBN.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Salven L. Lagumbay.
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