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Gerry
Peñalosa achieved history by himself. But with four of
his countrymen stepping up to the challenge, the
Philippines as a nation chalked a landmark victory after
local fighters banded together to beat Mexico, 5-1, in
the Boxing World Cup Saturday at the Arco Arena in
Sacramento, California.
Peñalosa
posted the most dramatic victory among the five
registered by the Filipinos after the 35-year-old—a
world champion 10 years ago—stopped the heavily favored
Jhonny Gonzalez in the seventh round that had the
Cebuano wearing a world championship belt anew—the World
Boxing Organization bantamweight title.
Rey
“Boom-Boom” Bautista, the main event in what was looking
like a walk in the park for Team
Philippines,
could have followed up Peñalosa’s feat. Instead,
Bautista would become minced meat to Daniel Ponce de
Leon who kayoed the erstwhile unbeaten Filipino in the
first round of their own world-title fight.
Bautista’s loss sent a mild shock wave through RP boxing
fandom, but four earlier victories by their countrymen
seemed enough to cushion the devastating blow that was
Bautista’s stunning Round-One defeat.
Super-flyweight Z Gorres stopped former world champion
Eric Ortiz in the eighth round to win the International
Boxing Federation Intercontinental crown. Teen sensation
AJ Banal beat Jorge Cardenas in three rounds of another
super-fly match, while bantamweights Diosdado Gabi and
Michael Domingo posted decisions.
The
southpaw Peñalosa, considered by observers as “an
insurance” for Mexico to notch one sure win in their
World Cup defense, churned out what is probably the best
performance of his illustrious career.
Chastised for lacking the aggressiveness of a champion
despite being considered having superior boxing talent,
Peñalosa started the fight as the aggressor and stalked
a backpedaling Gonzalez.
Peñalosa
caught the bigger Gonzalez with a left straight that
forced the Mexican to exchange flurries in the final 10
seconds of the opening canto.
The
second round went almost like the previous round as
Peñalosa continued to haunt Gonzalez until another body
shot forced the Mexican to slug it out with Peñalosa in
the waning seconds.
In the
third, Peñalosa’s counterpunches started to find their
mark, with one catching Gonzalez on a stiff left
straight.
Gonzalez
became more active in the fourth, peppering Peñalosa
with jabs and combinations. Instead of retreating,
Peñalosa showed more eagerness to move inside and land a
haymaker.
Gonzalez
had his best round in the sixth as he connected a
stinging double hook to the body that momentarily
stopped Peñalosa on his tracks. Proving that he is in
great shape coming into the fight, Peñalosa later on
tried to move in but had several near misses with his
vaunted countershots.
“Gerry,
you need to be busier. He’s coming one way all the time.
Use your jabs and movements,” were Freddie Roach’s
instructions in between the sixth and seventh rounds.
Behind
on points, Peñalosa continued to pursue Gonzalez who he
thought was already starting to fade halfway through the
12-round bout.
“Alam
ko pagod na siya. ’Yun talaga ang game plan namin
na pasukin siya at pagurin,” said Peñalosa in a
postfight interview with BusinessMirror via overseas
call in his Vagabond Inn room in Sacramento.
As
Gonzalez missed a combination, Peñalosa seized the short
moment Gonzalez carelessly opened up his defense, as
Peñalosa unleashed a brutal left hook to the right side
of Gonzalez’s body.
Gonzalez
took two steps backwards then immediately crumpled and
knelt in front of the neutral corner with both hands on
the canvass.
“’Yun
ang game plan namin, sa katawan talaga atakihin
si Gonzalez. Mahirap kung sa ulo lang kasi
masyado siyang malaki,” said Peñalosa who had a
slight gash below his left eye and on the bridge of his
nose.
Gonzalez
remained bended over until referee Pat Russell completed
the count to officially seal the title conquest of
Peñalosa.
As
Russell waved off the fight, Peñalosa went down on his
knees and kissed the canvass in the middle then whooped
hard-earned but brilliant victory up.
“Oh my
God, thank you Lord! I’ve been waiting for this for so
many years!” said an ecstatic Penalosa after the
official verdict was announced.
The time
of the stoppage was
2:35 of the seventh round.
Peñalosa’s win gave the
Philippines
a 5-0 win going into the Bautista bout. Peñalosa
improved to 52-6-2, with 34 knockouts while Gonzalez
fell to 34-6, 29 KO’s.
Peñalosa,
who celebrated his 35th birthday on August 7, may
consider this historic feat a perfect present for
himself.
In
winning the World Boxing Council (WBC) super-flyweight
crown back in February 1997 from Hiroshi Kawashima in
Tokyo,
Japan,
Peñalosa and older brother Dodie Boy became just the
first Filipino siblings to win world titles.
But
Saturday’s conquest cemented another memorable
achievement for Philippine boxing as the Peñalosa
brothers are the only Filipino fighters to win two world
crowns in two different divisions.
The
polio-stricken Dodie Boy is the first Filipino to become
dual world champion by first winning the vacant
International Boxing Federation (IBF) light-flyweight
crown via 12th-round TKO win over Satoshi Shingaki in
December 1983 in Osaka, Japan.
After
three successful defense of his IBF 108-lb crown, the
older Dodie Boy moved up in weight and captured the IBF
flyweight tiara behind enemy lines, stopping Korean Shin
Hi Sup in the fifth round in February 1987 in Inchon,
South Korea.
The
younger Gerry, meanwhile, is the fourth double world
champion of the country after Luisito Espinosa (WBA
bantamweight, WBC Featherweight) and current boxing
sensation Manny Pacquiao (WBC flwyweight, IBF super
bantamweight).
Peñalosa
captured the World Boxing Council (WBC) superflyweight
crown from Hiroshi Kawashima in February 1997 and
defended it three times before losing it to Korean In
Joo Cho in 1998.
The
Negros-born Peñalosa had three botched title hunts,
losing by close decisions to Cho in 2000 and Japanese
adversary Masamori Tokuyama in 2001 and 2002, forcing
the stylish southpaw to go into a 21-month hiatus.
Peñalosa
ended his retirement with an undistinguished second
round stoppage of Thai patsy Samingkao Chautipol in
Cebu. He won the fringe World Boxing Federation (WBF)
superflyweight belt in November 2004 at the Casino
Filipino Amphitheater in Parañaque, disposing of Thai
Bangsaen Sithpraprom in seven rounds
Before
fighting Gonzalez, Penalosa lost a controversial
12-round unanimous verdict loss against Ponce De Leon
last March beneath the Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Juan
Manuel Marquez WBC superfeatherweight bout at the
Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. |
