ALL IS FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR: Pinoy Power III on Valentine Sunday
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 13 Feb 2010
Boxing fans in the Philippines will be sitting on the edge of their seats on the morning of Valentine?s Day (Manila Time) when our boxers wage war in the highly anticipated Pinoy Power III Las Vegas fight card.
WBA interim superflyweight champ Nonito 'The Filipino Flash' Donaire (22W-1L, 11KO?s) faces Mexican Manuel Vargas, a late substitute for Gerson Guerrero, who was found to have a tear in his right eye retina during the pre-fight medical examination conducted by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and was not allowed to fight.
Donaire will have a size advantage over Vargas (26W-4L-1D, 11KO?s) who last fought at 105 lbs. and lost a split decision to WBO minimumweight champ Donnie "Ahas" Nietes in a fight held last September in Nayarit, Mexico.
Donaire weighed 115 lbs while Vargas weighed 114.
Ring magazine ranks Donaire (22W (14KO?s) ? 1L) number 6 among the top pound for pound boxers in the world. If Donaire wins, he has a lot of big fights to choose from like WBO superflyweight champ Jorge Arce, a rematch with Vic Darchinyan or move up in weight against Montiel provided he hurdles Morales.
Ciso ?Kid Terrible? Morales (14-0, 8 KO?s) will wage the fight of his life when he challenges Fernando Montiel (39W-2L-2D, 29KO?s) of Mexico for the WBO Bantamweight title.
Montiel and Morales both weighed in at 118 lbs.
Morales held the WBO Oriental superbantamweight crown but will be moving down in weight for his title challenge. He fought overseas for the first time last November and won a majority eight round decision over Mexico?s Miguel Gonzales in Canada.
He will have to overcome a wide experience and skill gap to beat the champion Montiel who is ranked number 20 among the best pound for pound fighters in the world by Ring magazine. Montiel narrowly escaped with his title from Z Gorres in 2007 with a disputed split decision win in a fight held in Cebu City.
The Ageless former two time world champ Gerry Penalosa (54-7-2, 36 KOs) will face former WBA world flyweight champ Eric ?Hands of Steel? Morel (41-2, 21 KOs) in a bantamweight eliminator and the WBO interim belt. The 37 year old Penalosa wants to retire with a world crown to cap an excellent twenty year career.
Penalosa weighed 118 lbs while Morel weighed in at 117.
Bernabe ?The Real Deal? Concepcion ( 27W (14 KO?s) ? 3 L- 1 D) will try to bounce back from the WBO title fight disqualification loss against Steven Luevano last August when he fights Puerto Rican Mario Santiago (21W (14KO?s) -1L-1D).
Both Santiago and Concepcion weighed 126 lbs for this featherweight contest.
A familar name on Santiago?s record is Morris Chule of Kenya. Santiago beat Chule by split decision in a fight held in Texas last October 2009. This is the same Chule who fought in Cebu last May 2009 and lost to Czar Amonsot by unanimous decision in a close but dreadful fight marred by frequent holding.
Mighty Mark Jason Melligen (16W (12 KO's) - 2 L) will face Raymond Gatica (11W (6KO?s) -0 -0) of the U.S.
Melligen weighed 146 while Gatica weighed 145 lbs.
Melligen lost a split decision in his last fight against Michel Rosales in the ill-fated Mandalay Bay House of Blues fight card that saw Z Gorres collapse after winning his fight against Colombia's Luis Melendez. The undefeated Gatica is the Texas state welterweight champion. Melligen was on a ten fight winning streak prior to the loss to Rosales.
This blockbuster fight card will be held at the Las Vegas Hilton and Philippine TV coverage is courtesy of ABS-CBN.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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