MANILA, Philippines?The visiting Mexican boxer, falsely labeled panteonero or grave digger, failed miserably in his job to provide Gerry Pe?alosa a legit workout.
But it?s not that simple.
German Meraz, 22, also ended up a major anomaly in fight-mad Cebu City last Saturday.
Suspected to be a workhorse, he did what his kind normally does at the race tracks.
He ran and ran all night long inside the oven-hot Cebu Coliseum.
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Meraz from Mexicali actually kept beating a hasty retreat.
He did look every inch like a kid afraid of his own shadow.
If he, say, every now and then bothered to refrain from scooting away to mix it up with Gerry, the main event would?ve taken on the happy semblance of a boxing bout.
Pe?alosa, for his part, came ready to fight.
His pre-fight tout that he would face a grim upset ax definitely helped whet fan appetite.
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Now, this is a little hard to report, Gerry being a dear friend.
But the 36-year-old World Boxing Organization bantamweight champion ended up contributing greatly to the monumental boredom that soon engulfed the coliseum.
Gerry again failed to solve a basic flaw.
He looked juiceless, shallow as he dragged and dragged his heavy feet during the sleepy chase.
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In short, Gerry, as in his failed bids against taller and more mobile champions, ended up baring a basic limitation.
This late in his career, Gerry has yet to show improvements in cutting off ring paths.
He must sharpen on how to expertly out-step and corner opponents.
OK, in a previous column, it was suggested his fight versus the obscure Meraz should help show if Gerry could still jump off a moving jeepney.
Gerry mercifully lasted ten rounds on Saturday, but it?s doubtful if he was already ripe and ready for a big rumble.
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There was none of the old sweet-punching phenom that became the darling of Cebuanos out there on Saturday.
Of course, there was a rare big blow that sent Meraz staggering dazed through the ropes in the second round.
The futile night-long chase actually started after that incident when Gerry next appeared like he was pulling his punches and carrying his foe.
It was a complete surprise though when Gerry declared that he had tried his best against the inept Meraz.
Pe?alosa fights world super bantamweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez in Bayomon, Puerto Rico, on April 25.
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Meanwhile, one cab driver, who sneaked into the coliseum for the main event, said he felt robbed and cheated after the tasteless, colorless main event.
He claimed feeling like he had again been victimized by rude, uncouth Korean citizens who?ve started invading the city of his affections.
As for Meraz, the crop-headed cabbie who transports customers on a year-old Toyota Avanza said Mexican fight authorities should strip this cheap, cowardly workhorse of his boxing license.
Meraz is a shame, a big discredit to Mexican machismo, the unsmiling cabbie said.
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BOXING BITS: Hermie Rivera, here on a visit, swears he was present when the estranged father-and-son boxing tandem of IBF world flyweight champion Nonito Donaire Jr. and Nonito Sr. shook hands at ringside inside the Cebu Coliseum Saturday night? Bantamweight champion Jason Egera, stopped and dethroned by Jundy Maraon of North Cotabato, has survived the fearsome third-round knockout that saw him being taken out unconscious on a stretcher? The first paragraph of my previous column should?ve read ?It?s a must for ever-loyal boxing fans? and not ?every loyal boxing fans?? Thank you, again)
