WILL IT BE DREAM COME TRUE FOR Z GORRES?
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 19 Mar 2009
Z ?The Dream? Gorres had shown world championship caliber when he castigated Roberto ?Mako? Leyva en route to a seventh round stoppage when the Mexican?s corner threw in the towel. He won the World Boxing Organization Oriental bantamweight title in his remarkable first fight in the division.
Consistently destructive for the opponent from start to finish, Gorres felt comfortable in the 118-lb. division and improved his pro record to 29-2-2 with 16 KOs. Leyva, on the other hand, skidded to 25-9-1 with 20 stoppages.
Michael Aldeguer wants Gorres to fight in the United States after the remarkable performance last bout. He said Gorres? rating will improve in the WBO and a possible rematch with Fernando Montiel might be realized this year or next year. Coincidentally, Montiel has also moved up to the bantamweight division.
On February 24, 2007, Gorres got an attempt for a world title where he challenged WBO super flyweight champion Montiel at the Cebu City Sports Complex. During the bout, Gorres was deducted a point twice, one in the 10th and another in the 12th round, for holding his opponent. Montiel won the fight and defended the title in a controversial split decision. The decision could have gone differently if not for the dubious deductions.
If he hurdles Montiel successfully, a title shot is in sight. The WBA bantamweight champion is Panamian Anselmo Moreno and the WBC champion in the same class is Japanese Hozumi Hasegawa.
The IBF champion is Ghanian Joseph Agbeko. Meanwhile, the IBF champion is our very own Gerry Penalosa. The Ring bantamweight title is vacant. Gorres could face any of these champions, except perhaps countryman Penalosa.
?I had the advantage in the fight because I could see his punches since he was not very quick,? said the 26-year-old Gorres referring to Leyva, a former IBF minimumweight champion.
The southpaw Gorres landed with his effective jabs and hooks on the Mexican and had an effective defense to Leyva?s counterpunches. Aside from being an aggressor, Gorres is also a defense specialist and is very clever in avoiding himself to get hurt by his opponent. He relied also on his excellent footwork and his speed to tire the opponent.
Aldeguer confided that Gorres looked very comfortable at the bantamweight division. He was extremely aggressive and never lost steam. When he forced himself to fight at jr. bantamweight he was often dehydrated due to extreme weight reduction.
Gorres is still ranked at the jr. bantamweight class by the prestigious Ring Magazine and he has moved up to the No. 5 position from No. 6 last week as of March 15, 2009.
Top photo: Gorres (C) dominates Leyva (R) during their fight last Saturday at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu City.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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