AGELESS and FEARLESS
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 08 Apr 2008
It was a mismatch. WBO Bantamweight titlist Gerry Penalosa?s knock out of Thai challenger Ratanachai Sor Vorapin was something to be expected. I was even surprised the fight lasted eight rounds. He knocked out the same Thai in six rounds almost eight years ago. If it wasn?t for Penalosa?s magnificent boxing skills the fight would have been totally boring.
But Gerry is still one of the leading practitioners of the sweet science. It is hard to believe he is 35 years old. I watch him because I know it may take a long while before we see another Filipino with his technical ability. I watch him because at his age he is racing against time. He is also racing for another crack at WBO superbantamweight titlist Daniel Ponce de Leon.
Gerry feels he won the first time. It was a difficult fight for him. De Leon?s size and power was difficult to overcome. Penalosa does have the skill and artistry to make his opponent miss by a few centimetres just by slightly tilting his head. Unfortunately fight judges don?t give points for defense. Just ask Z Gorres. Just ask Juan Manuel Marquez.
Gerry turned pro in 1989. His fight record is now 53 wins (with 36 KOs) 6 loses with 2 draws. He has never been knocked out. It takes a lot of guts to step into the ring again with one of boxing?s most feared punchers today. De Leon?s fight record of 34 wins (30 KOs) 1 loss and his shocking one round blowout of Rey Bautista last year speaks for itself. Gerry has shown he can survive the Mexican?s blows. He has shown he can make him miss and he can counterpunch effectively. But he will need to do more to grab the judges? attention if ever they meet again. De Leon has a scheduled fight this June against Juan Manuel Lopez.
The superbantamweight division does present Penalosa with a lot of name fighters and potential big money match-ups. Israel Vasquez and Rafael Marquez did engage recently in a brutal rubber match. If Penalosa decides to remain a bantamweight, the boxers ranked above him by Ring magazine - Hozumi Hasegawa, Veerapol Sahaprom, Wladimir Sidorenko and Silence Mbuza - are
not really big names in the U.S. market. Gerry was not a pay per view attraction when he was WBC 115 champ despite his awesome skills. He needs another big name fighter this time to attract the American audience. There is the much younger Abner Mares to think about but that fight is too far off and might never happen.
Considering the marketability of the Mexico vs. Philippines rivalry, a rematch with Ponce De Leon in the U.S. would be Gerry?s most workable option.
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