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WORLD
bantamweight champion Gerry Peñalosa is hell-bent on
retiring a world champion.
This,
according to the 35-year-old two-division champion, is
his motivation in his few remaining bouts which he hopes
will be against top-caliber foes.
“I want
our countrymen to see the very best of Gerry Peñalosa
and I can only do that by facing the best fighters,”
said Peñalosa.
Among
those boxers Peñalosa is eyeing are world
super-bantamweight champions Daniel Ponce de Leon,
Israel Vasquez and former titleholders Rafael Marquez
and Jorge Arce, who are all considered modern-day heroes
of Mexican boxing.
The San
Carlos City native will make his first title defense
against mandatory challenger and one-time foe Ratanachai
Sor Vorapin of
Thailand Sunday
morning in a 12-round title bout at the Araneta
Coliseum.
“I have
plan A, Plan B and Plan C for this fight. I don’t think
my opponent has that kind of preparation,” said Peñalosa.
For his
part, Vorapin said he learned his lessons very well the
first time he fought Peñalosa nearly eight years ago,
when both where still campaigning as super-flyweights.
“I know
I can beat him and I proved that the first time we met.
I became overconfident that time but this time I am well
prepared to win this fight,” said Vorapin.
A press
conference was held Thursday at the Manhattan Suites of
the Gateway Mall attended by Peñalosa and Vorapin, as
well as other fighters seeing action in the momentous
card dubbed “Invasion: Philippines vs. the World.”
ABS-CBN
is airing the fights live beginning at 9 a.m.
Seeing
action in the undercard are one-time world title
challenger Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista who will defend his
World Boxing Organization (WBO) Asia-Pacific
super-bantamweight crown against Mexican Genaro Camargo,
AJ Banal who will challenge world No. 2 super-flyweight
Caril Herrera of Uruguay in an eliminator for the world
No. 1 ranking, RP bantamweight champion Michael Domingo
who will fight Thailand’s Thepnimit Sor Chitpattana and
veteran Bert Batawang who will take on Indonesia’s Heri
Amol.
Another
unbeaten fighter, WBO Oriental and Asia-Pacific
superbantam titlist Ciso “Kid Terrible” Morales will
defend his titles against South Korea’s Yoo Shin Kim
(6-1, 4 KO’s).
Vorapin,
31, defeated 12 Filipino fighters since losing to
Peñalosa via 6th round TKO last November 2000 at the
Casino Filipino Amphitheater in Paranaque. In between
Vorapin held the WBO bantamaweight crown which he
defended it once before losing it to Mexican Jhonny
Gonzalez via 7th round TKO last October 2005 in Arizona.
Peñalosa
meanwhile won the title by stopping Gonzalez in the 7th
round with a single shot to the body in a title bout
held August of last year at the Arco Arena in
Sacramento, California.
Peñalosa
has a record of 52-6-2 with 35 knockouts while Vorapin
is already a veteran of 81 fights, winning 72 of them,
48 by KO’s.
Potentially touted as the best match-up of the card is
the battle of undefeated fighters Banal (16-0, 13 KO’s)
and Herrera 21-0, 13 KO’s) as experts have been telling
the Filipino camp to better be well-prepared as the
Uruguay fighter is said to be his country’s best
kept-secret.
All
fighters attended the press conference except Herrera
who lost his way coming from the airport. Also on hand
were Golden Boy Promotions (GBP) vice-president Eric
Gomez, GBP COO David Itskowitch, ABS-CBN Vice-President
for Sports Peter Musngi, ALA Boxing Executive Michael
Aldeguer, Peñalosa’s manager Billy Keane, Thai promoter
Kokiet Panichayarom and WBO Asia-Pacific boss Leon
Panoncillo.
The card
will be broadcast live in the Philippines and the world
via ABS-CBN global network (TFC) in
USA,
Europe, Middle East, Japan, Australia, Guam and Hawaii.
Broadcast begins at 10AM RP time and 6PM Pacific time in
the US. |
