Peñalosa seeks big win vs Thai

MANILA, Philippines - Undefeated Dodie Boy Peñalosa Jr. will use his fight against Thai super-bantamweight Kong Kiatpracha as his ticket to Las Vegas.

The son of former two-division champion Dodie Boy Sr. takes on Kiatpracha at the Mandaue Sports Complex in Cebu tonight, and the Filipino camp is hoping for an impressive victory.

Dodie Boy Sr. said he won’t settle for anything less than that. Otherwise, he said he might have second thoughts on putting his son on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao’s next fight.

Pacquiao is scheduled to face Juan Manuel Marquez on Nov. 12 in Las Vegas, the boxing capital of the world. If Dodie Boy Jr. makes it there, then he can make it anywhere.

But his father, and his uncle, two-time world champion Gerry Peñalosa said the younger Peñalosa must get past the Thai in convincing fashion.

Dodie Boy Jr. is undefeated in five fights, but tonight is the first time he will be up against a foreign opponent.

But he doesn’t have any idea about his opponent, except that he has a 5-8-1 record with four knockouts, and that he’s nicknamed the “Thai Tornado.”

“I don’t have any idea on how my opponent fights. But I will do everything to succeed and to give the fans a good fight,” he said in the vernacular.

Dodie Boy Jr. has knocked out all his five opponents as a pro.

“He needs a convincing win here and from there MP Promotions will decide whether he will be included in the Pacquiao-Marquez undercard,” said Gerry Peñalosa, the fight promoter.

The card to be aired by GMA-7 will also feature former WBC champion Rodel Mayol, former OPBF champion Jimrex Jaca and Eden Sonsona.

Mayol, hoping for another shot at the world flyweight crown, will take on Jason Rotoni while Jaca squares off with Philip Jun Demicillo. Sonsona will have Eman Labanza as his opponent.