By Ronnie Nathanielsz
At long last former WBC super flyweight champion's dream of one last title shot, this time against IBF bantamweight champion Rafael Marquez is turning into reality.
In a telephone conversation with Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today, the 34 year old Penalosa revealed that he had received a call from Joe Ramos, a member of Team Pacquiao, informing him of the December 2 title fight in oil rich Dubai. Marquez is promoted by Gary Shaw who was involved in two fights of Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao but his contract was not extended.
An elated Penalosa said "I'll kick his ass" and that to do this he will train very hard. Penalosa said he plans to leave for Los Angeles "at least 12 weeks before the fight" to train under the celebrated Freddie Roach at his Wild Card Gym.
Penalosa stressed "this is my last chance and I want to win. I know I have a good chance because he is not the same champion as before and has problems making the weight." He said Marquez likes to go forward and is wide open which is deal for his counter-punching style.
Penalosa who won the WBC super flyweight title with a split decision victory over Japanese hero Hiroshi Kawashima on February 20, 1999 lost a controversial split decision to Japan-born North Korean Masamori Tokuyama in his last title fight on December 20, 2002 with Roach in his corner in Osaka, Japan.
Penalosa predicted that "either I will go down or he will go down," noting that he always stays in shape and had plenty of time to prepare for Marquez.
In his last fight on the undercard of the Mano-A-Mano showdown between Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao and Mexico's Oscar Larios at the Araneta Coliseum, Penalosa won a unanimous ten round decision over rangy Tomas Rojas in an action-packed bout where Penalosa showed hand-speed, power and a and new-found aggressiveness.
Prior to that Penalosa, after a long layoff, whipped Argentine champion Dario Azuaga on December 10, 2005 at the Ynares Center in Antipolo, dropping Azuaga in the eighth and ninth rounds. Penalosa has a record of 50-5-2 with 33 knockouts while Marquez who is coming off a ninth round TKO win over Silence Mabuza of South Africa has a record of 36-3 with 32 KO's.
