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FILIPINO BOXERS READY TO REPEL INVASION By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Fri, 04 Apr 2008 Six Filipino boxers led by WBO bantamweight champion Gerry Penalosa are ready to repel an ?Invasion? force of six battle-tested opponents in the Philippines vs. The World fight card at the Araneta Coliseum Sunday morning. Penalosa who has been given the nickname ?Fearless? following his sensational one-punch, sixth round knockout victory over the highly-fancied Mexican Jhonny Gonzales after giving the menacing super bantamweight champion Daniel Ponce De Leon a boxing lesson, says he expects nothing less than a clean sweep. But the invaders led by former world champion Ratanachai Sor Vorapin claims Penalosa talks too much and he is determined to regain the title he lost to Gonzales and take it back to Thailand. Ratanachai?s young Filipino trainer Jojo Palacio says the former champion has trained long and hard and will have too much power for Penalosa. The 35 year old Penalosa himself conceded that Ratanachai is "a tough fighter and is one of the hardest punchers I have ever faced." Penalosa who has trained for more than two months has looked extremely sharp in training and his speed and timing during a workout on the punch-mitts bordered on the awesome. Penalosa has a lot riding on his first title defense because an impressive win is likely to get him a rematch with Ponce De Leon and a fight down the road hopefully against Israel Vasquez or Rafael Marquez. Penalosa made it clear he wants two big money fights after Ratanachai and then plans to retire because ?otherwise my wife (Goody) will kill me? he said. Despite the attraction of the Penalosa-Vorapin main event at the Araneta Coliseum, the acknowledged ?Mecca? of Philippine sports and entertainment the fight that has an intriguing ring to it is the IBF eliminator for the No. 1 super flyweight ranking between two undefeated boxers - AJ ?Bazooka? Banal (16-0-1, 13 KO?s) and Uruguay?s ?hero? Caril ?El Raton? Herrera who has an equally impressive record of 21-0 with 13 knockouts. Both Banal and Herrera are southpaws and although Herrera is tough and has heavy hands he has a penchant to be very aggressive and may well get nailed by a Banal counter-punch when he rushes in. To Herrera, this is the fight he wants to win and one where a victory will give him the confidence to go for a world title which according to WBC secretary general Mauricio Sulaiman he had refused twice - once against Mexican warrior Jorge Arce and the other against the gifted Christian Mijares, because he felt he wasn?t ready. To Herrera's handlers the Banal fight will be the decider. Respected international matchmaker Sampson Lewkowicz told Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today in an overseas telephone conversation that Herrera was ?strong and tough? and the fight against Banal could go either way and is likely to end in a knockout. Banal?s stablemate and WBO Intercontinental junior featherweight champion Rey Boom Boom? Bautista is eager to further erase the memory of fight fans following his first round demolition by the menacing Ponce De Leon last August 11. Bautista who won his last fight by a fairly convincing unanimous twelve round decision over Mexico's Antonio Meza hopes to build on that when he battles Mexico?s Genaro Camargo and nothing short of a spectacular knockout will probably satisfy the fans. Camargo has a record of 16-3 with 10 knockouts while Bautista has a 24-1 slate with 17 knockouts. Camargo insisted that he would do his talking in the ring and made it clear he hasn?t seen fight tapes of ?Boom Boom? and couldn?t care less because he plans to fight his fight and do his talking with his fists in the ring. Camargo?s manager Fernando Dominguez said ?my boy is ready to rumble.? Manila boxing fans will get the first glimpse of WBO Oriental junior featherweight champion Ciso ?Kid Terrible? Morales whose undefeated record of 10-0 with 6 knockouts will be put to the test by South Korea?s Yoo Shin Kim who is 6-1 with 4 knockouts. Another fight that could turn explosive is that between former world junior flyweight title challenger Bert Batawang and Indonesia?s Heri Amol. The Indon is coming off a loss to former world champion Yo Sam Choi of Korea whom he decked in the final round and who died three days after he collapsed in the ring and underwent brain surgery. The final face-off between a Filipino fighter and an invader will see bantamweight champion Michael Domingo (34-14-2, 13 KO?s) take on Thailand?s Thepnimit Sor Chitpattana (18-2, 7 KO?s) in a ten round bout. The exciting fight card is a collaborative effort between the pre-eminent Philippine broadcast network ABS-CBN, the renowned Golden Boy Promotions of the great Oscar De La Hoya, the famed ALA Gym of respected boxing patron Tony Aldeguer and well-known promoter and boxing manager Sammy Gello-ani. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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