By Rey Danseco
FORMER World Boxing Council (WBC) super flyweight king Gerry Peñalosa, whose next fight has moved to a third date later this month, took a hefty bonus when he signed with his new Filipino manager/promoter recently.
Peñalosa (48-5-2 with 33 knockouts) agreed to a six-fight, two-year contract (until August 2007) with Marc Roces, the bigboss of Jemah Television, in a simple rite of signing the deal in Manila, Philippines.
Also in the clause, Roces has obligations to get the 34-year old Peñalosa a crack in super flyweight title fight in any of the three major boxing organizations: the WBC, World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation.
The world title bout must be held by his third fight, according to Peñalosa, whose only current ranking is No. 5 by the WBO Asia Pacific.
The Games and Amusement Board (GAB) hasn’t received the copy of the pact as of press time, but Peñalosa said it doesn’t matter.
“What’s important is we agreed in one principle and goal, a shot at another world title possibly mid or late next year,” Peñalosa told this writer before he boarded a flight to Mactan, Cebu from Manila, yesterday afternoon.
The first fight of the deal will takes place on October 29 in a new venue, not in Manila as previously planned for the original fight dates on Oct. 1 and 15. It will be held at the Waterfront Hotel in Lahug, Cebu City.
Peñalosa said his scheduled fight is against Tanzania’s Mbwana Matumla (14-1, 9 KOs) in a 12-round tiff, for a minor super flyweight title under WBA.
It will be Peñalosa’s third ring appearance since formally announced his retirement from boxing in January 2003, after his third failure to regain the WBC super flyweight belt a month earlier against North Korean Masamori Tokuyama in Osaka, Japan.
Peñalosa scored a technical knockout win in the second round despite not landing a blow when the patsy Thai boxer Samingkao Chutipol went down in fear of getting hurt before annoyed fans at the Mandaue Sports Complex in his comeback fight on Sept. 19, 2004. The matchmaker of this overmatched fight was suspended by the GAB.
The 5-foot-4 southpaw captured the vacant WBF super flyweight title in his next fight by knocking out previously undefeated Bangsaen Sithpraprom of Thailand on Nov. 27 in Paranaque City.
Peñalosa also has another promotional deal, only in the United States, with controversial Murad Muhammad, which started early this year. But the estranged promoter of Manny Pacquiao failed several times to get Penalosa another fight in the US.
Due to strong evidence that he did wrongdoings, Muhammad is remembered to have thrown in the towel, this past June, when he offered an out-of-court settlement to end the New York federal jury trial of the $33 Million dollar case Manny Pacquiao filed against him.
Muhammad was reported to have been forced to accept a take-it or leave-it $8 million dollar settlement to Pacquiao. It was a lot bigger than the $1 million dollars Muhammad had originally offered.
