BATTERED BUT UNBOWED
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 26 Apr 2009
"You never got me down, Ray. Ya hear me? Never got me down." ? Jake La Motta to Sugar Ray Robinson after losing by TKO in the 13th when the fight was stopped with LaMotta lying on the ropes. Proud words from a proud champion after getting battered by the man now considered to be the greatest boxer ever pound per pound.
Gerry Penalosa can say the same thing to Juan Manuel Lopez.
The veteran WBO bantamweight champion (54-7-2, 36 KOs) entered the fight with a reputation of never being knocked out and being difficult to beat. The defending WBO junior featherweight champion Juan Manuel ?Juanma? Lopez (25-0, 23 KOs) was eleven years younger and beat his last three opponents in the very first round and knocking out his last twelve. Penalosa was also fighting in the champion?s home ground of Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
Penalosa showed his excellent defensive skills in the opening round by making his aggressive opponent miss by inches with subtle head movement. One wonders what would have happened if Juanma fought the 1998 version of Penalosa.
In the second, Lopez found his rhythm and scored power shots to the body and head but Penalosa was unfazed. In the third Gerry showed bravado by exchanging hooks with Lopez at the end of the round. The trend continued in the fourth and fifth with Lopez landing the harder blows and Penalosa getting his counters in just enough to get the Puerto Rican?s attention.
In the sixth, Penalosa received a frightening amount of body and head shots but still survived the round. The same dire trend continued in the seventh. Gerry was pinned on the ropes in the eighth but refused to go down. In the ninth round Penalosa managed to land clean shots but he could not hurt Lopez. He still continued to receive punishment thus prompting trainer Freddie Roach not to allow Penalosa to go into the 10th round.
This was the right decision. Penalosa had nothing to prove anymore. He entered the ring against one of the most fearsome punchers in boxing today and showed his courage and tenacity by refusing to go down.
If this will be Penalosa?s last fight then he went out like a champion.
Top photo: Juan Manuel Lopez (R) connects to the head of Gerry Penalosa during Saturday night's fight in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Photo by Dong Secuya.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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