THE Last Round accepts with mixed emotions the fact that Gerry Pe?alosa has fought his last fight over the weekend and that we may never see this gallant Filipino warrior on top of the ring again.
I have always been unabashedly vocal of the fact that this talented southpaw is my favorite fighter.
Manny Pacquiao will always be the greatest Pinoy fighter ever, but Gerry holds a special place in this deadline beater?s heart.
The Pacman overwhelms his opponents with crippling power and blinding speed, two attributes Gerry sorely lacked. Yet incredibly, he has amassed a record of 55 wins, 8 losses and 37 KOs, along the way becoming a two-time world champion in two weight divisions.
His roster of victims include world champions Ratanachai Singwancha, Johnny Gonzales and Hiroshi Kawashima.
CAREER. Noticeably, Gerry?s record lacks the roster of top-tier opponents that would have been a staple metric in a Hall-of-Fame career.
But blame that on the fact that Gerry was always a stylistic nightmare for his opponents and was constantly avoided especially in the latter stages of his career when he mounted a serious charge for another world title.
A southpaw with impeccable counter-punching skills, Gerry would school his opponents and box their ears off with calculated, deliberate movements and uncanny ring instincts.
While he had decent power in both hands, his gift was the prescient knowledge of anticipating his opponents? offense and adjusting instinctively. In so doing, he really didn?t need that much torque behind his blows, simply because his punch placement was sans rival.
And because he always found the right spot to unleash his deadly counters, he found success despite his lack of natural athleticism.
A case in point was the Gonzales victory, certainly one of the highlights of Gerry?s storied career. The lanky Mexican was ahead on the scorecards and was using his height and reach advantage to good use by utilizing every square inch of the ring.
But Gerry patiently bided his time and waited for his opportunity to strike.
All the great ones need is just a moment, and when that moment arrived with Gonzales overextending himself after missing badly with a right hand, southpaw Gerry deftly weaved and unleashed a short crisp left to the liver.
The pain didn?t register immediately, but a split second later Gonzales turned away and dropped down, clutching his midsection like he?d been shot.
That?s what makes Gerry so special. He?s the reason why we call this most brutal of sports the ?Sweet Science?
LOSSES. Even his losses buttress the fact that his opponents chose not to engage the crafty ring tactician on his own terms but opted to fight only to win, and even then, all of those fights were close, save for one.
Of the eight blemishes on his record, five were by split decisions. The fractious scoring alone means that those fights could arguably have been decided differently and Gerry could just as easily sport only three setbacks in his brilliant career.
Of those remaining losses, two were by unanimous decision. One was administered by Masamori Tokuyama in their first fight, which was close on the cards even with Tokuyama employing hit-and-run tactics.
The other decision loss was handed by Daniel Ponce de Leon. Again, I believe the fight was close with Gerry landing his fair share of counters, but the judges favored the bigger de Leon?s aggression, even though the latter was missing wildly.
(To be concluded on Sunday)
QUOTED. ?My problem is Manny doesn?t want to take any medication because of his belief, so let?s just wait.?–Freddie Roach on Manny coming down with flu (www.manilastandardtoday.com)
LAST ROUND. It?s on Franchesca Zosa who recently celebrated her birthday. Cheers!
