He is indeed a prospect. He has the name, the skill, and the physique to be a very good professional fighter. Safe to say, Dodie Boy Pe?alosa was born to do exactly what he did last Saturday. The young pug from the fighting Pe?alosa clan easily dispatched Kong Kiatpracha Gym in three rounds.
Gerry Pe?alosa, the fighter?s trainer and also the promoter of the event, dangled a bonus for the Thai fighter if he survives eight rounds against his nephew but it was all for naught. The promoter did this to ensure that the Thai will not simply take a dive after Pe?alosa connects with his first strong punch. He did not want to cheat the people of their hard-earned cash by giving them a glorified sparring match. Also, the older Pe?alosa wanted to test his nephew?s skill. An opponent who will simply take a dive will not do anything to help Dodie Boy Jr. improve his boxing.
Now it appears that the young Pe?alosa will get a slot in the undercard of the fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez in November. It is definitely a good break for him as he will be seen by a lot of people but there are dangers that come with this kind of fight.
Even though Pe?alosa is teeming with potential, he has not fought anyone who has a winning record. In basketball parlance, all his past opponents have been under .500, or in layman?s terms they all had more losses than wins. Another reason for worry is that he has fought all of his six fights in the Philippines, all under friendly circumstances.
A few months ago, a young boxing prot?g? who also comes from a renowned boxing family also tried to take a similar step. Juan Martin Elorde, grandson of boxing Hall Of Famer Gabriel ?Flash” Elorde, was steamrolling through opponents and had a perfect record of 11 wins with four of those coming via knockout. Like Pe?alosa, Elorde also did not have opponents who had winning records. He also has not fought outside the country. But when the opportunity came to be in the undercard of the fight between Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito, Elorde and his team took it with open arms. They found a suitable opponent in Angel Rodriguez who then had a dismal record of four wins, four losses, and two draws. To cut the story short, Elorde froze under the bright lights of the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The result was a tragic unanimous decision loss for Elorde. Instead of showcasing his skill in front of the millions of people watching, he was labeled as nothing more than an ordinary fighter carrying a respected surname.
Pe?alosa?s handlers need to decide on what is best for their fighter very soon. Taking on a spot in the undercard of Pacquiao-Marquez 3 maybe a dream come true for some but it can end up blowing up in your face if the fighter is not ready for it.
