By Ronnie Nathanielsz
WBO bantamweight champion Gerry Penalosa who was stripped of his title for reportedly having f ailed to defend it and turning down several fight offers, wants a crack at the winner of Fernando Montiel and Eric Morel who will battle for the vacant 118 pound title on June 27 in Atlantic City.
Penalosa’s manager Billy Keane told BoxingScene.com, insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports in an overseas telephone conversation on Wednesday (Manila Time” that Penalosa “wants to fight again. Wants to move down to bantamweight and fight and we will try to get him the winner of Montiel vs Morel.”
Keane said Penalosa was “just too little for Juanma but he fought a brave fight and there was nothing to be ashamed of.”
Penalosa won the bantamweight title with a 7th round TKO over Jhonny Gonzalez on August 11, 2007, defended it once against former champion Ratanachai Sor Vorapin over whom he scored an 8th round TKO on April 6, 2008 and then fought super bantamweight champion Juan Manuel “Juanma” Lopez in Puerto Rico on April 25, 2009 in a fight where he took a bad beating despite a valiant effort before trainer Freddie Roach called a halt before the start of the tenth round.
Gomez said that right after the fight WBO president Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel told Penalosa “you are a great champion” and that he deserves a shot at the winner of the Montiel-Morel title showdown.
Gomez said Penalosa had undergone a CTScan and an MRI after taking a brutal beating from Lopez. Gomez said that while the veteran southpaw was “a tough little guy, Juanma was too big, too fast and too strong for Gerry.”
The 30 year old Montiel, the former super flyweight champion is coming off a 3rd round knockout win over Diego Oscar Silva last March 28 and has a record of 39-2-1 with 29 knockouts. He moved up to bantamweight because he had problems making the 115 pound limit.
The 33 year old “Little Hands of Stone” Morel won a ten round unanimous decision over Roberto Bonilla to earn a crack at the vacant title. He has a record of 41-2 with 21 knockouts. Bonilla is the same fighter who suffered a 3rd round knockout at the hands of Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista on May 20, 2006.
The 36 year old Penalosa has a record of 54-7-2 with 36 knockouts.
