PENALOSA GOES TO WAR WITH DE LEON; BARDON IN OWN BATTLE
By Salven L. Lagumbay
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 18 Mar 2007
Former world superfly champion Gerry Penalosa will attempt to bring back the glory days as he challenges reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) superbantamweight king Daniel Ponce De Leon in a 12-round battle today at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The bout will serve as chief undercard to the big 'Fearless' card promoted by Oscar De la Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions featuring Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez in a showdown for the WBC superfeatherweight title.
Ponce De Leon (30-1, 28 KO's), will be defending his WBO crown for the fouth time against Penalosa (51-5-2, 34 KO's) in a classic match-up between youth and experience.
Contrasting Styles
Both Penalosa and Ponce De Leon came in at an exact 122 lbs at yesterday's weigh-in held at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Boxing experts, however, expect Ponce De Leon to come into today's fight at around 135 lbs, while Penalosa is expected to be at around 126 lbs for today's showdown.
The Penalosa-Ponce De Leon match also showcases a classic diffrence in styles, as the technically-superior Filipino goes up against the unorthodox, power-punching style of the Mexican.
The bouts will be aired starting at 9:30 AM by television giant ABS-CBN, with a replay 7PM on Studio 23 and tomorrow 2 to 6PM also at Studio 23.
Betting Line Scrapped
According to sources in Las Vegas, Ponce De Leon had been installed a prohibitive favorite to defeat Penalosa, and as of yesterday, the betting line for the fight had been totally scrapped as Penalosa has been perceived to have no chance of defeating the bigger Mexican.
However, a good number of Filipino boxing experts have not totally counted out Penalosa, especially on the heels of his impressive demolition of Mauricio Martinez last October.
Biggest Fans
Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao was scheduled to fly to Los Angeles last night to be at ringside to cheer for his close pal Penalosa, and at the same time keep a close eye at the Barrera-Marquez bout, the winner of which might get a chance to fight him this year. Pacquiao had sparred yesterday at the Wild Card Gym in Manila and was slated to board the 10:30 PAL flight to Los Angeles after attending a press conference for a party-list group at a hotel in Manila.
Sportsman Antonio L. Aldeguer and Cebu boxing impresario Rex 'Wakee' Salud, who had both managed Penalosa, expressed that this will be a tough fight for the Filipino, but noted Penalosa's superior skills that may just carry him to victory.
WBO Asia-Pacific chairman Leon Panoncillo, meanwhile, thinks that if Penalosa can withstand Ponce De Leon's punches, then the latter should be in trouble. On the other hand, should the Filipino find the Mexican's blows too heavy to handle, then it would be a victory for the reigning champion.
The Filipino people, however, are clearly rooting for their underdog compatriot Penalosa, who last held a world title way back in 1998.
Diosdado Gabi in the card, too
An interesting undercard to the championship fights is the appearance of hot Filipino prospect Diosdado 'Prince' Gabi, who will be seeing action in an 8-round fight against Mexican Antonio Cochero.
Gabi is coming off first-round knockout wins against former world champion Mauricio Pastrana and Felipe Rivas, and a win today will possibly line him up for another world title crack.
The rest of the card pits Demetrius Hopkins against Steve Forbes; Juan Alberto Rosas versus Sergio Espinoza; Ashanti Jordan against Eric Molina; and Anthony Martinez against Jesus Villareal.
BARDON VIES FOR OPBF CROWN IN JAPAN ALSO TODAY
Gerry Penalosa townmate and RP flyweight champion Jojo Bardon of the Rex 'Wakee' Salud Stable will attempt to win the vacant OPBF flyweight title crown today when he takes on undefeated Japanese Masaharu Naganawa in a 12-round battle at the International Conference Hall in Nagoya, Japan.
The 27-year-old Bardon, therefore, becomes the second native of San Carlos City to see action in a titular showdown today, the other one being Penalosa who will challenge WBO superbantam boss Daniel Ponce De Leon at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Bardon will be assisted in his corner by trainer Juanito Ablaca while Filipino boxing judge Sev Necesario will be one of the judges scoring at ringside.
Rex 'Wakee' Salud, Bardon's manager, had earlier indicated that his ward had done his best in training, and sounded confident of his boxer's chances against the talented Japanese.
Also, trainer Juanito Ablaca revealed prior to departure that Bardon had prepared long and hard against the undefeated Japanese by sparring against tough boxers at the Wakee Salud Gym.
Naganawa, who is unbeaten in 13 fights with 2 draws and 2 KO's, had previously stopped Filipino Gilbert De la Torre in seven rounds last December.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Salven L. Lagumbay.
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