Peñalosa ready for war

World Boxing Council (WBC) International superflyweight champion Gerry Peñalosa isn’t taking challenger Joel Avila lightly in their scheduled 12-round title bout at the Makati Coliseum tonight.

There’s too much at stake for Peñalosa whose manager Rudy Salud says a loss will mean his retirement. No wonder Peñalosa worked extra hard to train for Avila. He secluded himself for a month in Baguio – his wife Goody visited only a few days – and toughened up jogging on hilly terrain and sparring 70 rounds.

A win over Avila will keep Peñalosa’s hopes alive for another crack to regain the WBC crown he lost to In Joo Cho in 1998. A loss will end his career on a sour note.

As for Avila, he’s got everything to gain and nothing to lose. For sure, Avila’s no pushover – and Peñalosa knows it. Avila isn’t only the Philippine superflyweight champion but also the WBC International interim titlist. Peñalosa, in fact, was ordered to face Avila by WBC president Jose Sulaiman.

Salud says 4,500 tickets were printed for the fight and reports brisk sales. "The fans are expecting a fight to the finish," notes Salud who was once the WBC secretary general. "They know Avila is a dangerous opponent and of course, Gerry is still very popular. I’m not surprised that the demand for tickets is high."

Peñalosa, 29, is coming off a loss to WBC superflyweight champion Masamori Tokuyama last September – his second bid to regain the title. He’s determined to prove he’s far from over the hill. Peñalosa’s record is 43-4-2, with 25 KOs.

Avila, 26, is fresh from back-to-back wins over Marlon Castañeda and Jhunver Halog. As the underdog, he says the pressure is on Peñalosa, not him. Avila’s record is 25-8-3, with 13 KOs – including five in the first round.

Yesterday, both Peñalosa and Avila scaled 115 rounds – the superflyweight limit – during the 11 a.m. weigh-in at the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) office in Makati. Then, they paid a courtesy call on Mayor Jejomar Binay who hosted a lunch for the visitors at the Makati City Hall building.

If Peñalosa wins, he plans to fly to Los Angeles to train under Freddie Roach. Salud says Peñalosa is scheduled for an interview to renew his US visa at the Embassy next week. He hopes the visa will be issued for Peñalosa to leave a week later. Salud says Roach will focus on Peñalosa’s footwork and teach him how to cut the ring off on opponents who like to hit and run.

There‘s a possibility that Sulaiman will order Tokuyama to make his next defense against Peñalosa assuming the Japanese of North Korean descent repulses challenger Kozuhiro Ryuko in Yokohama on March 23. If Ryuko wins, Sulaiman has assured Salud that Peñalosa will be his first challenger. In the event Peñalosa is authorized as the next challenger, he will train six weeks in Los Angeles before battling the champion – whoever he is – possibly in July.

If Tokuyama beats Ryuko, Sulaiman has tentatively agreed to sanction his next defense against Katsuhige Kawashima in North Korea. That will delay Peñalosa’s crack to September in which case Salud says, he will figure in a tune-up fight, possibly against Pedro Alcazar of Panama or Trinidad Mendoza of Mexico, promoted by Don Chargin in Los Angeles to keep busy. Sulaiman’s tentative approval hinges on the availability of North Korea as a site – which is doubtful.

No matter what happens, Peñalosa can’t afford to lose to Avila.

"Pinaghandaan ko siya," says Peñalosa, referring to Avila. "Do or die ito’ng laban para sa kin." He adds that he trained for Avila like he would for Tokuyama and wore out two tapes of the Samareno’s fights to study his style.

Avila says he’ll do what it takes to upset Peñalosa. The important thing is to beat him to the punch, he continues. Avila also sparred 70 rounds, mostly with southpaw Roger Galica who fights like Peñalosa. He plans to confuse Peñalosa by boxing in and out. When there’s an opening, Avila says he’ll go for a knockout.

"Di ko akalain na makakalaban ko si Gerry na iniidolo ko," says Avila. "Malaking pagkakataon ito. Idolo ko siya pero ‘di ako magpapatalo."

Avila says it could be his time to shine tonight – who knows?

Peñalosa is guaranteed P600,000 for the fight and Avila, P200,000.

An uproar is expected tonight if the GAB makes good its threat to break tradition and not pay the undercard fighters after their bouts. As required, promoters deposited P328,000 cash – the combined purses for the undercard – with the GAB yesterday. But the GAB said the money will be disbursed in its Makati office on Monday to avoid being held up by robbers on fight night. The problem is the provincial undercard fighters usually head for home after their matches and waiting until Monday is an additional expense.

It wouldn’t be a problem if the GAB accepted a check from the promoters to cover the undercard purses. That way, the promoters could pay the purses in cash on fight night then retrieve their check from the GAB on Monday. But as the GAB now requires the deposit in cash, the agency could be asking for trouble.

In the undercard, WBC International bantamweight champion Abner Cordero takes on the GAB’s No. 2 featherweight contender Raffy Aladi in a non-title tenner, lightflyweight Gerald Ubatay battles Enting Ignacio, and Rolando Gerongco meets former Philippine lightflyweight champion Flash Murillo. Four other bouts complete the 70-round card.