But in a rare exception, Peñalosa said his bout against World Boxing Council (WBC) superflyweight champion Masamori Tokuyama in Osaka tonight won’t last the 12-round distance and he doesn’t expect to lose. In other words, Peñalosa is predicting to win by knockout.
Peñalosa hasn’t been more confident before a match. He said he knows what to do to beat Tokuyama and won’t let the North Korean, now a Japanese citizen, rob him of the chance to regain the WBC 115-pound crown that was once his.
Peñalosa has sparred over 80 rounds to prepare for Tokuyama. At trainer Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, he let it all hang out in sparring with the likes of Carlos Madrigal, Jose Navarro, Akihiko Nago, and Brian Viloria. Peñalosa spent five weeks in Roach’s gym then returned home two weeks ago to bury his father Carl in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental.
Peñalosa was careful not to lose sleep during his father’s wake and continued to train. After his father’s funeral, he stayed in Manila a week, working out at the Rizal Memorial gym and sparring with Arlan Lerio and Pedrito Laurente at the Elorde Sports Complex in Sucat. He left for Osaka with brother Erbing last Saturday.
Roach later flew in from Los Angeles and Peñalosa’s manager Rudy Salud, from Manila to join the fighter in Osaka.
Before leaving town, Peñalosa said Roach taught him how to cut the ring off on the quick-stepping Tokuyama, how to stop him from dancing, and how to avoid getting butted. Roach’s emphasis was all-out offense. Peñalosa said he’ll go to the body to wear down Tokuyama, force him to fight at close range, and pressure him from start to finish.
Peñalosa is dedicating the fight to his father. He credited his father for guiding him to the WBC title in 1997 and said he knows he’ll be in his corner tonight. It was his father who slapped him with three rounds to go and told him not to coast against defending champion Hiroshi Kawashima in Tokyo. The slap shook up Peñalosa who thought he’d done enough in the previous rounds to breeze to victory. As it turned out, Peñalosa fought furiously in the last three rounds and the effort led to a close win via a split decision.
"Kung buhay pa si Papa, hindi ko siya makakasama sa laban at hindi na siya makapag-biyahe," said Peñalosa. "Kaya, parang inisahan niya tayong lahat. Ngayon at wala na siya, siguradong magkasama na naman kami sa corner sa Osaka. He’ll be there in spirit."
Peñalosa called his challenge to Tokuyama "my last chance." He said he owes it to Salud, his fans, and the Filipino nation to regain the throne. Peñalosa isn’t thinking of the possibility of losing. When he regains the crown, Peñalosa said he will make three to four defenses then retire to take care of his wife Goody and their two children.
Roach will accompany Peñalosa back to Manila in the event he wins the title.
Peñalosa, 30, said unlike in the first Tokuyama fight, he’s mentally and physically prepared to win. Since that loss, he beat Joel Avila on an eighth round technical decision, outpointed Oscar Andrade of Mexico in a 12-rounder in Oroville, California, and halted Seiji Tanaka of Japan in seven in Honolulu. His record is 46-4-2, with 28 KOs.
Peñalosa said he won’t make the same mistakes against Tokuyama. In watching a film of the first meeting, Roach said Peñalosa hardly attacked the body, couldn’t put his punches together, and didn’t know how to stop Tokuyama from dancing. Roach said things will be different in the rematch tonight.
Tokuyama, 28, wrested the WBC crown from In Joo Cho on points two years ago. He has since repulsed five challengers in a row–Nago, Cho in a rematch, Peñalosa, Kazuhiro Ryuko and Erick Lopez. Tokuyama, who enjoys a two-inch height advantage over the Filipino, has a record of 27-2-1, with eight KOs. His only losses were to Filipinos Nolito Cabato and Manny Melchor. He has beaten Filipinos Randy Mangubat, Ricky Sales, and Roy Tarazona.
WBC president Jose Sulaiman has assured both camps that there will be no doubt as to the outcome of the fight. If it goes the full route, the decision will be fair and square as Sulaiman himself will be the fight supervisor at ringside.
The referee is Laurence Cole who has worked over 20 world title fights since 1994. The American was the third man in the ring when Rolando Bohol lost to International Boxing Federation (IBF) bantamweight champion Orlando Canizales in 1994, Luisito Espinosa retained his WBC featherweight crown on a technical decision over Juan Carlos Ramirez in 1998, and Espinosa lost the title to Cesar Soto in 1999.
The judges are Tom Kaczmarek, 74, Duane Ford, 64, and Richie Davies, 47.
Kaczmarek is the Chairman of the WBC Ring Officials Board. He is the author of the handbook "You Be The Boxing Judge: Judging Professional Boxing for the TV Boxing Fan." He has judged over 50 world title fights since 1984. In 1997, Kaczmarek was one of two judges who voted for Peñalosa when he dethroned Kawashima for the WBC title. He was in Manila to judge the Espinosa-Soto fight in 1996.
Ford has judged over 90 world title fights involving such legends as Muhammad Ali, Salvador Sanchez, Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns, George Foreman, Evander Holyfield, and Felix Trinidad since 1978.
Davies, an Englishman, was the referee when Willie Jorrin retained the WBC superbantamweight crown on a majority decision over Michael Brodie in Manchester two years ago.
Tonight’s fight is Peñalosa’s third attempt to win back the WBC crown he held from 1997 to 1998. He lost disputed decisions on two previous tries to regain the title. As both setbacks were questionable, Peñalosa remained the WBC’s No. 1 contender.
Tokuyama was ordered by the WBC to face Peñalosa in a mandatory defense or else he would be stripped of the title. In their first encounter, Tokuyama repeatedly butted Peñalosa–who bled profusely from seven cuts all over his face–but was never penalized by referee John O’Connell. An apparent knockdown scored by Peñalosa was ruled a slip by O’Connell. The travesty of justice led Sulaiman to order the rematch.
"Ito na ang pagkakataon ko para makaganti," said Peñalosa.
Tokuyama is up against a hungrier and more determined challenger tonight.