As they say, “all good things must come to an end”.
For the great Gerry Penalosa that could not be so true.
Last Saturday night, at the Las Vegas Hilton Casino Resort Gerry Penalosa fought his last fight. At least that was what he indicated to his friends and family who consoled him after losing a very close fight to Eric Morel of Puerto Rico.
The fight was his last attempt to re-gain his old glory.
But it was just wasn’t his night.
Morel proved to be a daunting challenge. He was tall and rangy and he literally used his head to gain an advantage over the shorter Penalosa. And, he threw “occasional low-blows” too.
But that is nothing new in boxing.
His head butts, albeit “unintentional” and ruled “accidental” had a huge negative effect on Penalosa.
More than once, Penalosa was clearly seen rubbing his cuts with his gloves to clear his eyes of blood and see the in-coming shots from Morel.
But in spite of the “disadvantages” brought about by the cuts and bruised face, Penalosa gave a good account of himself. He even won one of the three votes from the judges.
Penalosa’s self imposed retirement which was pushed to an earlier end by the rugged Morel with the help of controversial judging is much welcomed by his family and friends.
Even die hard boxing fans would have no problem accepting his decision.
But it was not about the loss itself. Its how he lost that made the decision to retire so apropos.
Penalosa as his record indicates, has fought many battles. His last fight against a much bigger Juan Manuel Lopez who scored the first stoppage in Penalosa’s career has taken a huge toll on the man they call “Fearless”
His age is a big factor too. Not too many at 37 can do what Penalosa can on top of the ring.
In fairness though, Penalosa never lost his flair for precision counter punching. But the zip is gone and so is the power behind his punches.
In short, he has reached the end of the road.
And, he knew it too.
Thus, it was not too difficult for him to call it a day and look forward to a long retirement and enjoy the company of his family and friends.
To Gerry “Fearless” Penalosa, our sincere thanks for all the past wars he fought that brought honor to his country, his family
But least we forget, and untold sheer joy for his fans who appreciate his genius as a fighter.
It will be a long time before another Filipino will come along with the fighting style and the big heart of the man they call “Fearless”.
