CAN MARCO & JUAN “TURN IT UP” A NOTCH?
Las Vegas, NV– Reigning WBO 122-lb king Daniel Ponce De Leon (30-1-0, 28 KOs) is a fighter Oscar De La Hoya has slated for greatness. He defends those laurels Saturday against former World (115) champion Gerry Pe?alosa (51-5-2, 34 KOs) at the MGM Grand. This bout takes place before fellow Mexican legends Juan Manuel Marquez (46-3-1, 35 KOs) and WBC super featherweight (130) champion Marco Antonio Barrera (63-4-0, 42 KOs) grace the same squared circle for their own titular showdown.
BOTH MEN HAVE BEEN DROPPED BY MANNY
The protagonists in the main event are both known for their counter-punching styles, although Barrera used to be an all-out brawler early in his career and Marquez also had exciting matches in his resume. The last time either man was in a real thriller was against Manny Pacquiao, as Marquez, having been dropped thrice was even after 12 rounds, while Barrera was drilled in eleven. The bottom line is that both men, and this has been documented, Barrera and Marquez have both turned down fights with the Pacman.
BETTER PUT THE WORD “IF” IN 48 FONT!
Still, it is very likely that both fighters will engage in a not-so-fan-friendly tactical strategy of waiting, which leads me to think that the supporting bout just might steal the limelight from these future Hall-of-Fame fighters. That is, IF the much smaller Penalosa beats the seemingly insurmountable disadvantage in size and age… and that is, as they say, a very big IF!
CLASSIC BRAWLER VS. (SMALLER) BOXER BOUT!
Styles make fights, but overwhelming size advantage can also compensate for the deficiency in skill. Gerry, a master boxer and veteran of 58 bouts, hands down, is the more skillful and more experienced fighter going into this bout. Nonetheless, Daniel Ponce as well enjoys great size advantage, not to mention the noteworthy knockout ratio and the exuberance of youth on his side, with an almost 10-year age disparity over his foe.
ODDS, SIZE, LOCALE, POWER…
Did I neglect to mention (I didn’t) that Oscar De La Hoya promotes, while his father Joel De La Hoya manages De Leon? All this being said, there’s definitely an element of surprise and uncertainty, which corresponds to excitement for some and anxiety for others. There are only two questions left to answer come fight night. Will Penalosa’s amazing boxing skills and ring savvy be enough to effectively fend off De Leon’s onslaught? Or will De Leon just run him over, proving once again that youth and size really do matter?
GERRY COULD LEARN FROM DURAN
Roberto Duran, arguably the greatest lightweight of all time, could serve as an inspiration to the huge underdog (Pedro says 8-1) Gerry Penalosa. The man who possessed the “Hands of Stone” was in that similar or worse situation when he fought Davey Moore in 1983 and Iran Barkley six years later for the WBA light middleweight (154) and WBC middleweight titles, respectively. As we all know, Duran amazingly pulled it off and the rest was history.
“BOOM-BOOM” BATTLES “ROCKY”!
Wait, I am not talking about Mancini or Marciano! This is about two promising young prospects Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista (22-0-0, 17 KOs) of the Philippines and Argentina’s Sergio Manuel “Rocky” Medina (28-0-0, 16 KOs). The 20-year-old Bautista and 25-year-old Medina are going to slug it out for a scheduled twelve rounds of fierce action for the right to challenge the winner of the De Leon-Penalosa scuffle this weekend.
PENALOSA “NOT” TALKING ABOUT RUN AT 122
Gerry has however earlier announced that if he wrests the WBO diadem from De Leon, he will vacate the belt and campaign four pounds south (118) at bantamweight, where he’s most comfortable fighting. Were it to occur, this WBO 118 lb. title eliminator may serve as one of the chief supporting bouts of the highly anticipated Oscar De La Hoya versus Floyd Mayweather Jr. face-off on the 5th of May.
“BAZOOKA” INVADES AMERICA!
Fresh from his sensational dismantling of power-punching Thai Komrit Lukkuongmuekol (15-3-0, 11 KOs), undefeated 18-year-old super flyweight phenom Alex John “Bazooka” Banal (12-0-1, 10 KOs) makes his much-awaited American debut against a still-to-be-determined opponent also underneath the De La Hoya and Floyd. Banal’s last five foes were foreigners with a combined record of 62 wins (43 KOs), 7 losses, and a draw, two of them with unblemished records prior to their respective encounters with him.
FILIPINO JOURNEYMAN KO’S PEDEN!
Twenty-seven-year-old Filipino lightweight Ranee Ganoy (22-10-2, 19 KOs) scored an emphatic 8th round KO victory over Australian ex-bomber Robbie Peden (25-4-0, 14 KOs) to capture the vacant IBF Pan Pacific lightweight (135) title at the latter’s home turf in Brisbane, Australia March 9, 2007. Peden, the same guy who went the distance in a losing effort to Marco Antonio Barrera in September, 2005 and lost to Juan Manuel Marquez via 10th round TKO in March of 2002, also went down in the 7th round, but was saved by the bell. Ganoy pressed the attack in the ensuing round, sending Peden down and out for the count. It was by far the biggest break of Ganoy’s career, as he stretches his winning streak to five, all of them not lasting the distance. He has only lost once since February of 2005, with all eight of his victories during that period by knockout.
