By Ryan Songalia 
 
Being the son of a world champion boxer brings it's own set of pressures and expectations. Aaron Pryor, George Foreman and Shane Mosley have all seen their namesakes follow in their footsteps. Some fighters - not wishing for their children to live the same lives they did - even abstain from affixing the Jr. suffix to their son's names.
 
The Penalosa name is an institution of Filipino boxing; both Dodie Boy and Gerry Penalosa were two-division champions while brother Jonathan fought for a world title. Their father, Carl Penalosa, was also a regional champion during the 1960s.
 
"That's our legacy, the boxing," said Dodie Boy Penalosa Jr., aged 20. "From my grandfather, to them and now to me. I'm the third generation."
 
With only one pro fight under his belt, Penalosa Jr will make his American debut this Friday, July 2 at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California against Jose Pacheco. Pacheco, of Guanajuato, MX, has a record of 2-13-6 and has lost his last 8 fights. Pacheco was knocked out in two rounds in his most recent effort less than two months ago.
 
The southpaw Penalosa will be competing in the junior bantamweight division but his team eventually wants to drop him to 118 pounds.
 
No Silver Spoon

Despite his family's success, Penalosa Jr., did not grow up in a coddled, privileged environment in Cebu City, Philippines. Penalosa Sr. used much of his money to support his extended family and elevate them from abject poverty. Often times, Dodie Jr. and his two siblings had to go without.
 
"It was tough for us. Sometimes we can't really get what we want. Sometimes we can't eat good, delicious foods."
 
Still, Penalosa's upbringing was more comfortable than most of his peers growing. Initially, Dodie Jr. hid his family's fame from his classmates in school so he could fit in. His teachers caught wind of his secret and word began to spread. Penalosa Jr. was relieved to discover that his classmates and teachers embraced his family's success. The idea of making a name for himself began to appeal to him and at the age of 9, he put on gloves for the first time.
 
Penalosa won all 27 of his amateur fights (ten by knockout) but never competed internationally. While trying to decide what he wanted to do with the rest of his life, Penalosa enrolled in Cebu City's Southwestern University on a boxing scholarship. There he studied mechanical engineering but felt the beckoning of pugilism pulling him away.
 
"We planned to stop because if you get old already and you did not go boxing already, it's too late," Penalosa Jr. says.
 
 Originally Manny Pacquiao had offered to bring Dodie Boy Jr. to America for a pro career but the Penalosas declined the invitation. They felt he was too young (17 at the time) and needed time to develop as an amateur. In 2009, then-IBF flyweight titlist Nonito Donaire Jr. came knocking with an offer he simply couldn't refuse.
 
Jonathan Penalosa, who was training Donaire at the time, had a scheduling conflict training his brother Gerry for a title challenge against Juan Manuel Lopez in Puerto Rico. Seeking a replacement trainer for his fight with Raul Martinez, Donaire went to Baguio City in the Philippines to train with Dodie Boy Penalosa Sr., where he quickly bonded with the young upstart Penalosa.
 
"Dodie Jr. was training with me, running with me," says Donaire. "We became close, like my little brother. I told him I have an opportunity for him if he wants to fight in the America."
 
After winning his pro debut by second round TKO in the Philippines, Penalosa Jr. packed up his bags, relocated to San Francisco, CA and signed a co-managerial contract with Donaire and Cameron Dunkin. Donaire and Dunkin then arranged for a promotional deal with TKO Boxing.

A Work in Progress
 
Donaire took a look at what he had in front of him and saw a tough, but green talent that had to be molded into a more versatile fighter. He observed a heavy puncher that didn't forget the body but wanted to add some flavor to him.
 
"The one thing that I teach everyone is that you're not just limited to being a fighter when you're a fighter, and you're not limited to being a boxer when you're a boxer," Donaire explains. "I want him to learn every angle and every style there is he can from boxing. What I'm trying to teach him is to use the ring. He's able to move around and do a lot of things he couldn't before. "
 
"He was just a brawler but but we changed him to be more of a boxer," said Jonathan Penalosa, Dodie Jr.'s head trainer. "He's using more movement because we don't want him to go forward all the time."
 
Upon arriving in America, Penalosa Jr. found the difference in the boxing here to be like night and day. He was confronted with sparring partners who moved, tried to bully him and everything in between.
 
"The styles here are different because in the Philippines the fighters all go toe to toe," says Penalosa Jr. "The international fighting is different than what I've seen from my background. Here they use their feet to fight smart."
 
Most significantly, he was confronted with sparring partners that didn't fear him.
 
"The people he spars with here don't care that he was the son of a world champion," Donaire says. "Back in the Philippines, people were afraid of his name. This time nobody cares who he is. If you're in the ring, we're going to try to beat him up. There have been times when he was almost giving up training because we pushed him to the limit but he's learning now."
 
Skill and talent alone don't make a championship fighter, however. Along with tough sparring comes tough love. While conceding that Penalosa Jr.'s inexperience will require soft matchmaking in the beginning, Donaire remains confident that the end product will justify the means.
 
"One thing about him is that he's very nice kid but he lacks confidence in feeling equal with everyone. Fighting other races and other nationalities is what we're trying to make him comfortable with. He's gotta feel superior to his opponents. We're trying to show him that he can do whatever he wants and can beat anyone as long as he's in good shape." -RS

Ryan Songalia is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and a contributor to GMA-7 News in the Philippines. He can be reached at ryan@ryansongalia.com . An archive of his work can be found at www.ryansongalia.com . Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ryansongalia .