FORMER world super-flyweight champion Gerry Pe?alosa will have another shot at a world title this August.
The 34-year-old Pe?alosa yesterday told the BusinessMirror his American promoters called him to confirm his upcoming bout against World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight champion Jhonny Gonzalez.
“Tumawag na sila sa akin at sinabi nga na approved na ’yung world title fight,” said Pe?alosa in a telephone interview.
The Negros-born southpaw fighter will face Gonzalez in a 12-round encounter on August 11 at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, California.
“Siguro talagang tiwala pa sila sa akin kaya nila ako binigyan ng isa pang title fight,” said Pe?alosa.
Golden Boy Promotions (GBP) is said to be finalizing a deal between WBO super-bantamweight champion Daniel Ponce de Leon and mandatory challenger Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista. GBP exececutives plans to make the Ponce de Leon-Bautista the main event of the August 11 card.
Pe?alosa, a former World Boxing Council super-flyweight champion, is coming off a controversial 12-round loss to WBO super-bantamweight boss Daniel Ponce de Leon.
Pe?alosa clearly dominated the first half of the fight until de Leon started to fight from a distance and peppered the Filipino fighter with jabs and straights to dominate the last few rounds.
Two of the three judges gave Pe?alosa a single round, while the third tallied an unbelievable shutout.
“Sinabi ko nung una na gusto ko ng rematch kay de Leon pero mas available ’yung Gonzalez kaya tinanggap ko na din,” added Pe?alosa. “Ang importante ay world title uli ang laban ko.”
The 25-year-old Gonzalez has a record of 34-5 with 29 knockouts. He won the crown in October 2005 when he stopped Thai Ratanachai Sor Vorapin via a seventh-round technical knockout.
His last fight was on March 30, when he defended the crown against former International Boxing Federation champion Irene Pacheco.
Pe?alosa has a record of 51-6-2 with 34 knockouts.
