Peñalosa fight set at Casino Filipino

After three opponents backed out, former World Boxing Council (WBC) superflyweight champion Gerry Peñalosa has finally found a fighter with the guts to face him here.

WBC No. 13 contender Pone Saengmorakot of Thailand lays his career on the line when he battles Peñalosa in a 12-round bout for the vacant WBC International superflyweight title at the Casino Filipino in Parañaque on May 13.

Peñalosa's manager Rudy Salud earlier tried to lure World Boxing Federation (WBF) junior bantamweight titlist Samson Toyota-Thailand, WBC bantamweight ruler Veerapol Sahaprom, and Korean Yang Sang Ik to meet the San Carlos City southpaw in Manila but none had the courage to accept.

Saengmorakot, 26, has nothing to lose and everything to gain in fighting Peñalosa. He was knocked out by In Joo Cho in a bid for the WBC 115-pound crown in June last year and lost a disputed split decision to Masamori Tokuyama in an Oriental title bout three months later. The losses to Cho and Tokuyama are the only blemishes in Saengmorakot's 18-2 record, with six knockouts. A win over Peñalosa will catapult Saengmorakot back into the top 10 ratings.

Fighting a Filipino is nothing new to Saengmorakot who's beaten the likes of Marlon Carillo, Rico Paquibot, Jimmy Cordero, Joven Jurda, Lee Escobido, and Ricky Sales. He's never lost to a Filipino and doesn't plan to lose to Peñalosa, notes Thai sports columnist Edward Thangarajah. Salud says Saengmorakot is "definitely no patsy."

For Peñalosa, the fight marks his comeback from a controversial split decision setback to Cho in Seoul last January.

Salud said Cho is booked to stake his crown against Mexican Gabriel Mira in Seoul next month and a Japanese challenger in Osaka in July. Cho's manager Ku Sung Lee has assured Salud that if the champion loses the title in either defense, he will exercise the first of his two options for Peñalosa to get the first crack at the new titleholder. -