By Cliff Rold
Between the three of them, there are major title belts in three weight divisions, one lineal championship, and a combined age of almost 101. This Saturday night in Las Vegas, Nevada, one of them is likely to have his final chance to be a major force.
The tally could reach two.
On paper, the most accomplished match of the night on Top Rank’s latest independent pay-per-view foray will pit 37-year old Gerry Penalosa (54-7-2, 36 KO) of the Philippines against 34-year old Puerto Rican Eric Morel (41-2, 21 KO) of Madison, Wisconsin for the interim right at Bantamweight to pay WBO sanctioning fees.
It even comes with a belt.
Defending the WBO belt that comes without an interim tag, 30-year old Fernando Montiel (39-2-2, 29 KO) of Mexico steps in with 22-year Filipino Ciso Morales (14-0, 8 KO). The winners presumably face off later this year to ‘unify’ the title distinction, but what of the defeated? The card comes under the labels of both “Pinoy Power” and “Latin Fury” but could as easily have borrowed from an old cliché.
Something’s gotta’ give.
Something will, perhaps already has, in the case of all three decorated veterans. Penalosa lost badly in his last outing in April 2009, an abrupt halt to what had been resurgence. The WBC and lineal World Champion at 115 lbs. from 1997-98, Penalosa lost the title in his fourth defense and failed in three tries to get it back.
The last of those attempts came in a rematch with Masamori Tokuyama in December 2002 via debatable decision. Penalosa did not fight again until September 2004, winning five in a row to score a shot at 122 lb. titlist Daniel Ponce De Leon in March 2007. Penalosa lost on points but found plenty of fans and press who felt he deserved the nod and five months later rode the sympathetic response into a WBO 118 lb. title shot at Jhonny Gonzalez. Behind on the cards, Penalosa connected with a crackling body blow in the seventh to score a knockout, a champion again just shy of eight years after he lost his first honors.
Two more wins followed before giving up his 118 lb. belt and making another trip to 122 lbs. for a chance at the young tiger who took De Leon’s strap, Juan Manuel Lopez.
It was a bad night.
Penalosa lost every round and was forced to retire in the corner to be spared a mounting beating. A fighter who spent over half of his paid tenure at Flyweight and Junior Bantamweight, the loss higher on the scale did not necessarily signal the end of Penalosa’s relevance on the title scene.
A loss this Saturday probably would.
Glen Johnson, the 41-year old Light Heavyweight, proved last weekend in knocking out younger man Yusaf Mack that some fighters just can’t be bothered with the calendar. He remains a contender. However, the line between being a legitimate contender and a well named opponent is thin as fighter’s age. In the lower weight classes, divisions which typically draw less money and attention, the line is thinner.
Penalosa will be looking across the ring at a man who will be fighting the same potential fate. Morel, a 1996 U.S. Olympian, shares with Penalosa the memories of championships past. A WBA Flyweight titlist from 2000-2003, Morel made five defenses before being upset in Puerto Rico by Lorenzo Parra. Three fights later, he was soundly battered over the distance by then-WBA 115 lb. titlist Martin Castillo. It was reasonable to question whether Morel had seen his peak come and go.
Then Morel was gone to prison for over two years on a sexual assault conviction. Inactive from March 2005 to February 2008, Morel has slowly rebuilt to this moment with six wins in a row. Having lost the last two times he was seen with genuinely threatening opposition, a loss to Penalosa could confirm what seemed to be the case after the Castillo loss.
Win and another opportunity, a bigger opportunity, looms.
Who that opportunity will come against will be determined in Montiel-Morales. With WBO belts at 112, 115, and 118 lbs. in his career, Montiel is one of the most difficult multi-division titlists to gauge in recent memory. At times he has looked like a beast, a combination of skill, speed and power that belongs in the same breath as the game’s best.
Other times, he has not.
His last fight was such a case. It wasn’t supposed to be a rough night. A non-title contest with Alejandro Valdez was probably assumed to be a stiff workout. Valdez was two fights removed from a second round knockout loss to WBC Bantamweight titlist Hozumi Hasegawa; Valdez followed Montiel with a lopsided eleventh round stoppage defeat against WBA interim beltholder Nehomar Cermeno.
Against Montiel, it was Valdez who probably should have left with the stoppage victory. Valdez came off the floor in the first, rocked Montiel and cut him with a punch, and suddenly found himself awarded only with a technical decision win. Valdez raises questions about Montiel which Morales might ask with force.
Or Montiel might look the part of beast once more. With Montiel, one never knows. He’s seemingly always been equal parts the fighter who dominated the late Pedro Alcazar and obliterated Martin Castillo, struggled with Z Gorres and Luis Melendez, and all but failed to show up for Mark Johnson and Jhonny Gonzalez.
One thing can be taken for granted. A loss to Morales, a challenger whose professional experience is dwarfed by Montiel, would not portend well for a vibrant future. Fernando Montiel would have enough name value for any young fighter to want his scalp on the way up the ratings, but probably be assumed as too risky for champions trying to keep their belts.
A win keeps him viable in one of boxing’s hottest divisions with a solid, recognizable opponent waiting. Montiel versus Penalosa or Morel would be a showdown any hardcore fight fan could be intrigued by.
Assuming there are no draws or other unpalatable outcomes, it will be only one of them and Montiel has to win to make it happen. Saturday night, all three need to win to ensure they still matter beyond the evening.
Someone will wake up Sunday without their needs met.
Weekly Ledger
But wait, there’s more…
Valero-DeMarco Thoughts: https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=25209
Ratings Update: https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=25235
Picks of the Week: https://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=25234
Cliff’s Notes…
Nonito Donaire has had to bring in a late replacement for aged veteran Gerson Guerrero which begs the question of why someone as talented as Donaire was wasting time with Guerrero in the first place. There is too much talent at 115 lbs. for Donaire not to be matched tougher than this…Edwin Valero versus Timothy Bradley at Jr. Welterweight sounds like fun but might Valero be more ready for that with another bout or two under his belt? Despite his career credentials, Juan Manuel Marquez for the true Lightweight crown would probably be the safer pick and pay better if it could be made. A win for Valero would create the possibility of a Bradley-Valero bout later in the year where both men would be the clear number one’s in their divisions. Right now, only Bradley can really make that claim.
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
