By Rey Danseco
FORMER WBC super flyweight champion Gerry Peñalosa eyes another crack at a world title in a higher division in the middle of the year. But he must first prevail in a proposed tune up fight in Las Vegas, Nevada to possibly gain the step for the crack.
With the help of a influential Filipino-American official of the WBO, Peñalosa may get a shot against newly crowned WBO bantamweight champion Jhonny Gonzalez of Mexico.
WBO Asia Pacific championship chairman Leon Panoncillo, a native of Hawaii, son of Filipino parents, is using his connections to book Peñalosa (49-5-2, 33 KOs) against Gonzalez (31-4, 27 KOs) on the undercard of the scheduled first title defense of WBC light middleweight champ Ricardo “El Matador” Mayorga of Nicaragua against Oscar “Golden Boy” De La Hoya on May 6.
The 5-foot-5 Peñalosa, now 33 years old, is groomed to challenge Gonzalez, who is nine-years his junior, three-inches taller at 5-foot-8 and has a 6-inch reach advantage (65” of Penalosa compare to 71” of Gonzalez). Both men hold knockout wins onver Thailand’s Ratanachai Sor Vorapin.
Peñalosa knocked out his fellow southpaw Vorapin in round 6 to retain his WBC International super flyweight belt in Paranaque City on Nov. 25, 2000, while Gonzalez Koed the Thai in round 7 to capture the WBO crown on Oct. 29, 2005 in Tucson, Arizona.
Peñalosa’s acting-Filipino matchmaker Sammy Gello-ani, who is associated with Antonio L. Aldeguer, for the anticipated tune-up fight, on the other hand, is also participating in on-going negotiations with a possible foe in the unspecified top 10-bantamweight contender of WBO.
The idea of taking a highly rated opponent to justify Peñalosa’s entry into the WBO’s ratings in case he wins. Currently, Peñalosa’s only ranking is No. 10 in the world by the IBF, No. 9 by Ring Magazine, and No. 8 by WBO Asia Pacific, all in super flyweight class.
Gello-ani left for Los Angeles, California on Monday, along with phenomenal WBO Asia Pacific bantamweight champion Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista (19-0, 14 KOs).
Gello-ani informed Peñalosa, who is now a residence of Better Living Subdivision in Paranaque City, last Saturday, that the non-title fight might be set on the last week of February or early March in Las Vegas.
As of this moment, the only fight scheduled on the Nevada Athletic Commission for the last week of next month will be on the 25th in “Sin City” at Mandalay Bay Resort where Gonzalez stakes his title for the first time against former IBF and WBO super flyweight king Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson (44-4, 28 KOs).
De La Hoya stages the HBO pay-per-view card through his Golden Boy Promotions with the headliner of Shane Mosley and Fernando Vargas battling in a WBA Light Middleweight title eliminator.
Bautista is also looking for another ring appearance on U.S. soil on the later date of February, his manager Antonio L. Aldeguer confirmed.
Bautista, who is Gonzalez’s top ranked contender, is coming off in his second impressive win in the U.S. mainland, a unanimous decision over Mexican Gerardo Espinoza on Dec. 23 in El Cajon, California.
Bautista and Gonzalez also have a common foe. They both stopped Mexican Gilberto “Chipis” Bolaños in round 6 of the bouts scheduled for 10.
The Filipino registered the victory over Bolanos on June 11, 2005 in Mandaue City while Gonzalez scored it on June 6, 2002 in Mexico City.
This exclusive report was published by Philippines Manila Times, Bandera (Flag) and Bagong Tiktik (Spy), where in this writer is the sports editor on Jan. 15, two days before other website knew the matter or made a follow up report.
