Gerry Pe?alosa?s bid for a third division title came to a frustrating end as the veteran Filipino pug succumbed to a thorough beating from Puerto Rican sensation Juan Manuel Lopez in their World Boxing Organization (WBO) super-bantamweight title fight on Sunday in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
The 24-year-old Lopez peppered Pe?alosa with a barrage of punches right from the opening bell. The Puerto Rican continued to dominate the Filipino in the succeeding rounds, but it was in the ninth when Pe?alosa no longer had the strength to go on, thus forcing coach Freddie Roach to throw in the towel.
It was the 36-year-old Pe?alosa?s first knockout loss in his career, denying him a chance of becoming a world champion anew after dominating the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Federation super-flyweight and WBO bantamweight divisions.
He also failed to follow the footsteps of countrymen Nonito Donaire Jr. and Brian Viloria, who won their respective world title bouts a week ago at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
?[Lopez] is just too strong,? said Roach. ?It pains me to stop the fight but I didn?t want him to absorb more damages.?
Roach said he had initially wanted to stop the fight after the eighth, but consented to Pe?alosa?s request for one more.
But Lopez was unrelenting. The stats showed the Puerto Rican connecting 444 of the 1,020 punches he threw as against the Filipino?s 99 out of 392.
Besides retaining his WBO 122-lb belt, Lopez also padded his unblemished record to 25 wins, while recording his 23rd knockout victory.
Pe?alosa, on the other hand, absorbed his seventh loss in 61 fights. He had 36 of his 54 wins coming via knockout. Roach said Pe?alosa has nothing to be ashamed of as he ?fought a game fight.?
?[Lopez] is just overpowering. I thought Gerry might make a turnaround later in the fight and he might get tired. But he [Lopez] did not,? added Roach, who momentarily left Manny Pacquiao in the US to be at Pe?alosa?s corner.
It was Pe?alosa?s second attempt at the WBO super-bantamweight belt after losing a controversial decision to Daniel Ponce de Leon in 2007.
Lopez himself credited his aging foe for his gallant stand. ?He?s a great fighter, very strong even at his age,? he said through an interpreter.
Pe?alosa, who turned professional in 1989, won his first world title, the WBC 115-lb belt, on February 27,1997, by beating Hiroshi Kawashima. He defended the title three times before losing it to In-Joo Cho via split decision in South Korea on April 29, 1998.
He tried to regain the crown in a rematch two years later but failed in a controversial unanimous decision.
On September 24, 2001, he challenged Masamori Tokuyama, who then succeeded Cho as WBC super-flyweight champion. Unfortunately, he lost by another controversial split decision. The two fought again on December 20, 2002, but the result was again in Tokuyama?s favor. Pe?alosa temporarily retired that year.
Pe?alosa returned to boxing two years later. He defeated Bangsaen Sithpraprom for the WBF super-flyweight title in November 7, 2004.
On March 17, 2007, he took on Ponce de Leon, who then held the WBO super-bantamweight title. In that fight, Pe?alosa displayed his intelligence, excellent boxing skills and defensive abilities. Ponce de Leon, who is a knockout artist could not land a clear punch on Pe?alosa. Pe?alosa answered with stinging counters that frustrated Ponce de leon. Although Ponce de Leon was the busier boxer, most of his punches landed in the air and on Pe?alosa?s gloves. However, Ponce de leon won in a controversial unanimous decision.
Pe?alosa went down in weight and dethroned Jhonny Gonzalez for the WBO bantamweight title. Pe?alosa won the bout and the title using body shot that cause Gonzalez to drop and remained down on the canvass. This was his second world title in 10 years.
He defended the title by stopping former world titleholder Ratanachai Sor Vorapin of Thailand in the eighth round on April 6, 2008, in Quezon City. This was the second time he fought Sor Vorapin in which Pe?alosa prevailed on both encounters.
Against Lopez, Pe?alosa came into the fight as a big underdog?he is three inches shorter than the Puerto Rican, notwithstanding the fact the he is fighting in front of his opponent?s countrymen. He only has experience?and heart?as an advantage.
But it didn?t prove to be enough.
