By Ronnie Nathanielsz
WBO bantamweight champion Gerry Penalosa who has a record 56-6-2 with 36 knockouts told BoxingScene.com, insidesports.ph a short while ago that he is ready to put on a show for his fans both at the Cebu Coliseum this evening and on a nationwide television audience of the giant broadcast network ABS-CBN’s Studio 23 as well as a worldwide audience over TFC, The Filipino Channel.
Hours before Penalosa steps into the ring, well-known boxing writer Jason Aniel who is based in San Francisco, California in a story posted on the Manny Pacquiao website referred to Penalosa’s Mexican opponent, German Meraz who has a record of 20 wins, 11 defeats and 1 draw with 8 knockouts as “unheralded” and a mere “club fighter out of Mexico” who is “not expected to put up much of a fight against Penalosa” who Aniel claimed “is at least eight levels above his opponent.”
However, we believe the fight is important for Penalosa as a tune-up to his much-talked-about showdown against the sensational KO artist Juan Manuel “Juanma” Lopez, scheduled for April 25 in Puerto Rico although nothing has been finalized as yet in terms of contracts.
Penalosa has been training diligently in the summer capital of Baguio City along with IBF/IBO flyweight champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire who is himself preparing to defend his title, possibly for the last time against undefeated Raul “Cobra” Martinez (24-0, 14 KO’s) on Sunday, March 22 in a cracking world title double-header at the famed Araneta Coliseum, home of the “Thrilla in Manila” between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in October 1975.
Donaire himself told us that Penalosa looked sharp in training and was clearly ready for the much-needed tune-up fight since his eight-round dismantling of former world champion Ratanachai Sor Vorapin some ten months ago.
