Pinoy Boxers Ruled Invasion
This is the first title defense for the 35-year-old since he acquired the title from Jhonny Gonzalez last Aug. 11, 2008 in a seventh round KO.
Peñalosa holds a record of 52-6-2 with 35 KOs and has never been knocked out in his long illustrious career, while Thailand’s Sor Vorapin, the much younger fighter, has an outstanding 72-9 and 48 KO record.
AJ Banal and Caril Herrera of Uruguay both came in at the limit of 115 lbs. This fight is a title eliminator in the International Boxing Federation super-fly class. Herrera arrived in the country only last Thursday after a 40-hour trip that originated in the capital city of Montevideo.
In the other main supporting tiff, Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista scaled in at 122 lbs, just like his Mexican foe, Genaro Camargo.
Ciso Morales, a promising super-bantam came in at 121 lbs for his scuffle with Yoo Shin Kim of Korea, who weighed in at 122 lbs.
Other Filipino boxers facing foreign rivals include bantam Michael Domingo against a Thai and light-fly Bert Batawang against an Indonesian.
In the undercard, WBO Intercontinental superbantam champ Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista, 122 lbs, will defend his title against Mexican challenger Genaro Camargo, 122 lbs. Bautista had earlier stressed if he wins against Camargo, he will also shoot for a possible rematch with Daniel Ponce De Leon who stopped him in the first round at the World Cup last year.
In a battle of undefeated prospects, someone’s “O” has got to go as AJ “Bazooka” Banal and Uruguay’s Caril Herrera take on each other in a 12-round scrap serving as an IBF superflyweight eliminator with the winner getting the top contender status.
Australia’s Ray Wheatley supervised the weigh-in yesterday in behalf of the IBF, assisted by GAB’s Nasser Cruz and other personnel.
WBO Oriental champion Ciso “Kid Terrible” Morales, a prized find from Bohol, takes on Korean challenger Yoo Shin Kim who had to spend about an hour to shed off a 1-lb extra baggage before finally making weight yesterday.
The rest of the match-ups and their weights: Michael Domingo (119.5) vs Thepnimit Sor Chitpattana (120 lbs); Bert Batawang (108 lbs) vs Heri Amol (107 lbs); John Mark Apolinario (116 lbs) vs Jessie Albaracin (115 lbs); Eric Macas (126 lbs) vs Rene Bucag (125.5 lbs).
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