This Saturday, August 11th, from Arco Arena in Sacramento, California, HBO?s Boxing After Dark will showcase a card that will remind viewers of the beginning of the show?s series. The theme of the night is Boxing World Cup, Mexico vs. the Philippines. The seven-fight lineup will feature seven Filipino boxers vs. seven Mexican boxers. The two championship fights, Daniel Ponce De Leon vs. Rey Bautista and Jhonny Gonzalez vs. Gerry Penalosa, will be televised by HBO. Only the fans in Sacramento who buy a ticket will see the rest of the World Cup action, including an interesting contest between Z Gorres and Eric Ortiz.
Two years ago in the first Boxing World Cup, Mexico defeated Thailand at the Desert Diamond Casino in Arizona. Mexico will be the defending World Cup Champions against the challenging Philippines.
HBO has been television?s boxing leader since the days that a young Mike Tyson was shredding opponents and captivating the public. They have the biggest budget and the farthest-reaching audience. However, recently HBO?s reputation as a boxing presence has faltered. That was due, in part, to a drop in quality of their Boxing After Dark broadcasts. Boxing After Dark (BAD for short) was originally created to be a lower budgeted boxing show, compared to their headliner show World Championship Boxing, which features their biggest stars and highest profile fights. The idea was to feature discover future stars by pitting two talented but lesser known boxers in evenly matched bouts. The result was some of the best fights of the last couple decades, including Arturo Gatti vs. Micky Ward, Ike Ibeabuchi vs. David Tua, and Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Erik Morales.
Somewhere along the line, HBO lost its way and began using Boxing After Dark for fights that simply were not good enough to put on WCB, instead of showing fights that catered more to the hardcore fans. The result was top fighters in meaningless tune up fights, washed up veterans pitted against each other, and marginal prospects fighting fringe contenders. The series appeared to have lost its way.
It is not clear whether or not HBO will get their act together and start to consistently show better fights, back their old standard. This Saturday?s World Cup is a step in the right direction though. In what is being billed as the main event, Daniel Ponce De Leon will defend his WBO Super Bantamweight Championship and his glossy record of 31-1, 28 KO?s, against Filipino prodigy Ray Bautista, 23-0, 17 KO?s. Ponce de Leon is a crude in his approach. He is not a slick boxer or a dancer; he comes forward winging shots a bit like an amateur. However he is very effective because of his immense physical strength. His punching power is notable as well, as seen by his 88% KO ratio. If I had to describe Daniel in one word I would say ?rugged.? He breaks the will of his opponents with pressure, and has done so with resounding success so far, owning the scalps of competent fighters such as Sod Looknongyangtoy, Al Seeger, and Emmanuel Lucero. The only loss on Ponce de Leon?s record is a unanimous decision to world-class boxer-puncher Celestine Caballero back in 2005.
There are high hopes for Daniel Ponce de Leon?s opponent, Rey Bautista, in the Philippines. Most 21-year-old fighters are still considered developing prospects. Although Rey may still be developing, he has earned his stripes by fighting a good level of opposition. He cannot be called anything less than a contender at this point. Bautista looks like he could be the total package when he hits his prime. He has hand speed, footwork, defense skills, and above average pop in his gloves. Still in the infancy of his career, Rey will have a stiff test against Ponce de Leon for his first world title. Daniel will attempt to make the fourth defense of his championship against his young, upstart challenger, in the process of winning one for Mexico.
The televised undercard match, which might as well be call the co-main event, is the tall lanky intimidator from Mexico, Jhonny Gonzalez, against the skilled veteran southpaw from the Philippines, Gerry Penalosa. Gonzalez impressed at the last Boxing World Cup with a WBO Bantamweight Title winning performance against Ratanachai Sor Vorapin. He parlayed that win into a flurry of success, including victories over Mark ?Too Sharp? Johnson, Fernando Montiel, and Irene Pacheco. Jhonny also briefly traveled up in weight in 2006 to challenge Israel Vazquez for his 122-pound belt. Gonzalez did well in that fight early, knocking around Vazquez with ease, until succumbing to fatigue and a few well-placed left hooks in the 10th round. Gonzalez, who has a record of, 34-5, 29 KO?s, is an explosive offensive fighter who can handle himself in the ring with any boxer at or around his weight class.
Gerry Penalosa will surely have to fight a perfect fight if he wants to lift the WBO Bantamweight strap from Gonzalez. Penalosa, utilizing a noticeably different fighting style than his opponent, has accumulated a rec
