Unfazed by the credentials of Daniel Ponce De Leon, Gerry Pe?alosa vows to unleash his punching power and make the most of what is perhaps to be his last crack at the world title when he goes up against the reigning WBO super bantamweight champion at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Saturday (Sunday morning in Manila).
Pe?alosa, 34, faces the Mexican champion in a 12-round title fight in the undercard of the Marco Antonio Barrera-Juan Manuel Marquez main event promoted by Golden Boy.
In Tuesday’s press conference, Pe?alosa thanked Golden Boy for the opportunity at one more title shot while De Leon promised an exciting fight. But while many fans in attendance felt that this was De Leon’s most important fight to date, his manager Joe Hernandez hinted at his ward’s victory via short route.
“I don’t think this is a coming out party, we just feel Daniel is too big and too strong for Pe?alosa,” said Hernandez in an interview with Fightnews.com.
‘Pe?alosa packs power but Daniel’s got the best defense in boxing and it’s a good offense. He’s awkward and difficult to hit. I think he’ll stop Pe?alosa,” added Hernandez.
De Leon, who packs a 30-1 (win-loss) record with 28 knockouts, said he’s in tip-top shape and predicts the fight won’t go the distance.
“I feel very strong at this weight and I believe without fear of being wrong that I’m going to knock out and at the same time rip the head off of my opponent,” said De Leon. “I’ve watched him to see how he moves and the quality of his skill. Although he brings skill of a smaller caliber which is why I dare to predict that the fight won’t go the distance.”
Pe?alosa, however, just shrugged off De Leon’s threat.
“De Leon is good, but he is just an ordinary boxer. Other champions and boxers in the super bantam division exist who are better than him,” said Pe?alosa. “He does not intimidate me.”
The De Leon-Pe?alosa clash is expected to spice up the Barrera-Marquez duel.
Both Marquez and Barrera appeared to be the picture of confidence as they joked with media and promised victory during the press launch. But both fighters also were keenly aware of what this fight meant to their respective legacies and both promised not only a victory, but a war.
“I am very excited, this is a fight that I was supposed to have a long time ago,” said Marquez through a translator, “It’s happening now, they gave me the opportunity and I want to take advantage of that.”
For a fighter who’s been fighting since 1993, Saturday is a rare opportunity for Marquez to not just establish himself as a superstar in the sport (many argue that he already established himself as a star when he held Pacquiao to a draw back in 2004) but to quite possibly establish himself as the premiere Mexican fighter in the world.
But getting through Barrera has never proven to be an easy task, especially when he is defending his mythical title as Mexico’s “great champion.”
“To me it is an honor to give the public a fight of this nature,” said Barrera, “It is very important to me for fans to remember me as a fighter who was fighting the top fighters and giving them the top fights.”
I don’t want to be remembered as a fighter who fought fighters of poor quality.”
Barrera and Marquez both are seasoned veterans with a history of fighting against the odds. Both know what it’s like to lose a questionable decision and both know what it feels like to be on the wrong side of boxing politics. It is that shared history that has made this fight so unlikely and so intriguing today.
Meanwhile, Mexican ring legend Erik Morales, whom Manny Pacquiao stopped in their last fight, will move up to lightweight in an attempt to win a world title in a record fourth weight division. Plans are for Morales to challenge WBC titleholder David Diaz on June 30 in Las Vegas at a venue to be named, according to fightnews.com.
