PINOY POWERS TO FACE A LATIN FURY FEB 13
By Jason Aniel
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 12 Feb 2010
San Mateo, CA—This biggest night of the year, so far, in Philippine Boxing takes place at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas this Saturday. The Top Rank PPV card titled “Pinoy Power 3/Latin Fury 13” will televise four Filipino fighters taking on tough Latin opponents. Nonito “Filipino Flash” Donaire, 22-1 (14 KOs) headlines the card when he takes on last minute substitute, Manuel Vargas, 26-4-1 (11 KOs). Vargas, who has mostly campaigned at Light Flyweight (108lbs), will move up a couple of weight divisions to meet Donaire, who is generally regarded as one of the top fighters in boxing. Vargas recently lost a split decision to WBO Light Flyweight Donnie Nietes.
Donaire was originally supposed to face Gerson Guerrero. However, because the Nevada State Athletic Commission discovered that Guerrero has a detached retina, they medically banned Guerrero from fighting on Saturday. The “Filipino Flash”, who lives and trains in the Bay Area, crashed onto the boxing scene after his one punch knockout win of then Flyweight Champion, Vic Darchinyan. Since that victory, Donaire has been keeping busy fighting quality opposition while looking for another big named opponent. After getting past Vargas, Donaire is prepped and ready to take on either Jorge Arce or Vic Darchinyan is a big fight for the Summer.
The WBA interim-titlist has been training since the beginning of the year and was heavily favored to defeat his original opponent, Guerrero. Even after a late minute switch of opposition, Donaire is still a level above Vargas and barring any mental lapse or lack of focus; he should be able to dominate Vargas.
That same conviction in a Donaire victory cannot be said for the other Filipinos on the PPV show. There’s been a lot of hype surrounding the 22-year-old Ciso Morales, 14-0 (8 KOs), who will challenge for a world title for the first time against long time champion, Fernando Montiel, 39-2-2 (29 KOs). Morales is nicknamed “Kid Terrible” in honor of the Mexican great, Erik “Terrible” Morales. And based on the limited footage of Morales that is out there, he looks and fights like a young Erik Morales. Ciso likes to establish a long jab and a right and is not scared to engage with his opponent. But like Erik Morales, Ciso also gets hit a lot and against an opponent with the skill set of a Montiel, it could pose a ton of problems for the Filipino.
Morales has a new trainer in Nonito Donaire, Sr., father and the trainer who helped mold Donaire Jr. into the champion he is today. However, Morales in just 14 fights will jump head first into the deep end of the ocean when he takes on WBO Bantamweight titlist, Fernando Montiel. Simply based on what each fighter has accomplished so far, Montiel’s class and experience should be enough to withstand the youth and hunger Morales brings into the ring. In Montiel’s second defeat, he lost a close decision to a taller Jhonny Gonzalez, who used a lot of jabs to keep the shorter fighter at bay. Morales will need to employ similar tactics like that in addition to cleaning up some fundamental mistakes he makes like squaring up after combinations.
In a make-or-break fight, Gerry Penalosa and Eric Morel battle to get one more crack a world title. Penalosa, 54-7-2 (36 KOs), was stopped for the first time in his career at 122lbs against Juan Manuel Lopez last April. His trainer, Freddie Roach, did not allow Penalosa to leave the corner for the 10th round. Many believed that this would be the last time we would see the great Filipino fighter in the ring. However, this setback motivated Penalosa to try to get one more shot at world title at his natural weight class of 118lbs. A victory over former Flyweight titlist, Eric Morel, 41-2 (21 KOs) would set Penalosa up with a title shot against the winner of Montiel-Morales.
Eric Morel was regarded at one point as one of the best Flyweights in the world. However, after a 3-year lay off from the sport because of a jail sentence, Morel is on the comeback trail and Penalosa will be his toughest opponent since losing a decision to Martin Castillo in 2005. Morel is a tall fighter with a good jab and likes to box. The style match-up favors Morel because Penalosa has had trouble in the past with tall stick and move fighters. Both fighters are extremely motivated to get another shot at the world title.
Penalosa is the slight underdog in this match based mostly on his last performance against Juan Manuel Lopez. Gerry needs to prove that he still has some gas left in the tank to win another big fight, and that he is not a shot fighter who needs to retire. Mentally, Penalosa is extremely focused and confident of victory. He has been training for this fight since November. If Penalosa can establish a good body attack and force Morel to exchange with him, he can win a decision or possibly stop him. However, he can not sit on the ropes and take unnecessary punishment like he did against Lopez. Freddie Roach has made it perfectly clear that he will not hesitate in stopping the fight if he feels Penalosa is not responding well to punches.
In what could potentially be the most exciting fight of the night, featherweight contenders Bernabe Concepcion, 27-3-1 (15 KOs), and Mario Santiago, 21-1-1 (14 KOs), battle for a shot at a featherweight title. Concepcion and Santiago share a common opponent in Steven Lueveno. In his last fight, Concepcion was disqualified when he knocked out Lueveno two seconds after the bell rang. Santiago and Lueveno battled to a draw in an exciting contest back in 2008.
The style match-up favors Santiago, who is a slick boxer, who has no problems going toe-to-toe. When Concepcion fought Lueveno, his toughest opponent at the time, he was very reluctant to let his hands go. Concepcion is a physically gifted fighter with good power but in that fight, he waited way too much to land any effective blows. He will need to be aggressive and throw combinations to have any chance in beating a world-class fighter like Santiago.
This fight could give fight fans a real indication of whether Concepcion really has what it takes to become a world champion. When Bernabe first fought in the United States, he had a lot of support, especially from Manny Pacquiao, who predicted a world title for Concepcion. Now, it’s time for Concepcion to prove Pacquiao right and show a lot more in this fight with Santiago than in his last fight against Lueveno.
In an off T.V. fight, welterweight prospect, Mark Jason Melligen, 16-2 (12 KOs), will fight for his Top Rank “freedom” when he takes on undefeated Raymond Garcia, 11-0 (6 KOs). Melligen suffered a disappointing decision loss in his last fight. Should he lose again against Garcia, he will suffer a huge setback and could end his run on Top Rank Shows. That means it’s back to the Philippines to regroup. This is a must win fight for the Cebu City native.
Overall, this card featuring all Filipino fighters will be the toughest set of bouts for RP pugilists since Golden Boy Promotion’s World Cup of Boxing show in Sacramento in 2007. Filipinos went 5-1 that night, highlighted by Penalosa’s stunning one body punch knockout of Jhonny Gonzales. The Filipinos on this Saturday’s card are matched in much tougher fights than before, and it seems unlikely they will have the same success, as a group, like they did back in 2007. However, no one expected the Philippines to go 5-1 in the World Cup of Boxing, and the Filipinos on the Top Rank card have more than a shot to win their respective fights. It will be a special night in Las Vegas for Philippine fight fans and a must-see PPV show.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Jason Aniel.
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