DODIE BOY Pe?alosa was undoubtedly the happiest person on Sunday when his fighter Nonito Donaire Jr. and Brian Viloria annexed the two world title belts which he held two decades ago.
?Hindi ko ma-explain ang pakiramdam na makita ko ulit ?yung belts na suot ngayon ng mga kababayan natin,? Pe?alosa told a radio interview on Monday.
?Dito pa sa atin ginawa ?yung laban kaya talagang napakasaya ko,? added Pe?alosa, the first Filipino to hold belts in two different divisions.
Donaire retained his International Boxing Federation (IBF) flyweight crown with a smashing fourth-round knockout of Raul ?La Cobrita? Martinez, while Viloria, known as ?The Hawaiian Punch,? shocked defending champion Ulises Solis with an 11th-round stoppage to grab the IBF light-flyweight title, in the process halting the Mexican?s streak of successful title defense at seven.
The polio-stricken Pe?alosa, who trained Donaire for his third title defense against Martinez at the Araneta Coliseum, held those two belts in his heydays.
He took the IBF light-flyweight belt from Japan?s Satoshi Shingaki in Osaka in 1983. He moved up to the flyweight class and ruled the division via a fifth-round knockout of Shin Hi Sup four years later in Incheon, South Korea.
For Pe?alosa, the impressive KO wins of Donaire and Viloria just showed that Filipino fighters are world class.
?Sana maging inspirasyon sa lahat ang panalo nila. Talagang marami ngayon ang nangangarap na manalo ng title figths. Masayang-masaya ako ngayon kasi ?yung mga belts na hawak ko noon ay hawak na rin ng mga Pilipino,? he added.
Top Rank Promotions boss Bob Arum supported Pe?alosa?s claim and said he won?t be surprised if there are more Filipinos who will win world titles in the future.
?There are tremendous numbers of Filipino fighters,? said Arum, who personally witnessed Donaire?s demolition of Martinez.
?We are looking for more Filipino champions. You gonna see in the next few years as many as 10 world champions out from the Philippines because they are really terrific fighters and have great followers,? he added.
Arum hopes that the twin victories of Donaire and Viloria will jump-start what he called a ?big series of three weeks for Filipino boxers.?
He is referring to Gerry Pe?alosa?s upcoming bout against Juan Manuel Lopez on April 25 in Puerto Rico for the World Boxing Organization super-bantamweight crown and the much anticipated duel between Manny Pacquiao and British star Ricky Hatton in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the IBO welterweight title clash on May 2.
