CEBU CITY ? Tonight, Gerry Pe?alosa takes a step in his climb to immortality. Young German Meraz tests the WBO bantamweight champion in a card dubbed ?Battle of the Bantamweights? which will be telecast by ABS-CBN Sports this evening. Meraz, lanky and in Asia for the first time, was a little wide-eyed at the weigh-in yesterday. Although his handlers were making noise to try to get Gerry?s goat, it didn?t faze the champ at all.
Meraz has only fought in Germany aside from Mexico, and has just come off two fights against Juan Chabelas, one a four-round TKO, one a five-round TKO. The 22-year-old has a checkered career, to say the least. Meraz has a record of 20 wins, 11 losses and 2 draws. He?s knocked out 8 and lost by knockout twice, a lot of activity for a youngster.
?He promised to give Gerry a good workout,? says boxing journalist Dennis Principe. ?And they say they have a surprise for the champion. But I think he will be surprised instead.?
Meraz arrived Wednesday after a long trip. He doesn?t really know what to expect. In the ring, he will be facing a champion eager to cement his legacy after almost a decade of not being world champion. With improved training and a killer instinct, Pe?alosa is using this fight to prepare of a big super bantamweight bout against Juan Manuel Lopez, who is undefeated after 34 fights, with 33 coming via knockout. The main question will be if Pe?alosa is already thinking of Juanman and not Meraz, who has a slight height and reach advantage. Pe?alosa has been training in Baguio City with IBF flyweight champion Nonito Donaire Jr. and former two-time champion Dodie Boy Pe?alosa.
?I?m confident I?ll do well Saturday,? Pe?alosa told The STAR. ?This is important for me, because it will help me learn a lot of things in preparation for the next fight. I?m not taking this guy lightly.?
At 36, Pe?alosa knows the clock is ticking. But at the same time, more and more fighters are staying in the game longer, as evidenced by Sugar Shane Mosley?s knockout of the much-younger Antonio Margarito, whom Oscar dela Hoya skipped fighting because of the height, reach and age disparity, or so he thought.
Lopez knocked out the feared Daniel Ponce de Leon, the WBO super bantamweight king. Before Pe?alosa annexed the bantamweight title, he moved up to super bantamweight and lost via a unanimous decision to Ponce de Leon. After that, Pe?alosa made the rare move of moving back down and claiming the bantamweight crown.
What is next for Pe?alosa? Another title, and more big fights in the limited time he has left in his great career. For fans here in Cebu, it is also a sought-after chance to see their own hero live in action.
The heat will certainly be a big factor, as you can feel the heat of summer slowly creep in. Pe?alosa will also benefit from residual effects of high-altitude training in Baguio. Meraz will be out of his element, in a hostile territory, where the only hospitality he will receive will be outside the ring after the fight. If Pe?alosa wants to, he will be able to end the fight in three or four rounds. If he wants to test the other weapons in his arsenal, it will probably last six or seven.
All in all, it will most likely be a good workout.
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Congratulations to the Tennis Academy Philippines Foundation (TAPF) which held its launch earlier this week. Managing director and Davis Cup coach Manny Tecson was proud of what the Academy stood for, even as his players ? mostly new discoveries ? have been reaping great results, thanks also to the help of the Southwoods Tennis Academy.
?We are seeing the boys responding to how well they are being treated,? said Tecson, who waved off offers from Bangladesh, Qatar and other countries to coach their players. ?These boys have tremendous potential, and once again, we can dream of great things in tennis.?
One of the players TAPF is very proud of in unheralded Jeson Patormbon, who has been competing in Bangladesh. The fifteen-year old was discovered a little over six months ago, using a liquor bottle, a ?lapad? in hitting tennis balls. His former coach and teammates allegedly abused him and made him wash cars. But at the TAPF, he has blossomed.
?In just three tournaments, Jeson has already earned a lot of points to climb up the world junior rankings,? Tecson explained. ?In a matter of time, he will break the top 200 in the world, and beyond. This kid is tremendous, and he motivates himself very well, because of the hardship he has endured.?
The TAPF has a gym, dorm, spa and swimming pool situated in its facility in Katarungan Village in Alabang, and will soon boast of one indoor and three outdoor tennis courts on the property fronting it. Thanks to the generosity of former Rep. Romeo Jalosjos, tennis is now developing a wider talent base through whom the future of the sport will be secure.
