Peñalosa foe a hard nut to crack

Former Filipino World Boxing Council champion Gerry Peñalosa will have his hands full when he clashes with No. 4 contender Pone Saengmorakot of Thailand for the WBC international superflyweight title on May 27 at the Casino Filipino Amphitheater in Parañaque.

For one, the 26-year-old Saengmorakot has never lost to a Filipino fighter. In fact, he has beaten six of them, namely Ricky Sales, Lee Escobido, Marlon Carillo, Rico Paquibot, Jimmy Cordero and Joven Jurda en route to racking up 17 straight victories in the pro ranks.

Although he lost two of his last three bouts, Saengmorakot remains confident of regaining his winning ways and this he vowed to start against Peñalosa when they meet in the featured bout of the PSA Fiesta Fistiana.

Against Saengmorakot, Peñalosa will have an opponent who never backs off like what the Thai fighter showed in his losing bids to Japanese Masamori Tokuyama and In Joo Cho, the very same Korean who beat Peñalosa for the second straight time for the WBC crown early this year.

Saengmorakot lost a split 12-round decision to Tokuyama for the Oriental superflyweight title last September in Osaka where the Japanese used a left jab to stymie Saengmorakot, whom ringsiders thought had done enough to win on points.

Against Cho, Saengmorakot realized the only way to win in Seoul is to score a knockout, which he nearly did in the fourth round where he shook up Cho with a 1-2 combination. But Cho somehow weathered the storm and the Thai lost steam, enabling the Korean to come back and knock out his rival with a right hook in the jaw at 2:44 of the eighth.

But Saengmorakot will also be facing a rival who is raring to launch his own comeback following that loss to Cho with the Filipino training in earnest to ensure the success of his bid in the event presented by San Miguel Beer and Casino Filipino.

A victory by Peñalosa may pave the way for the Filipino boxer's campaign in two weight divisions - super- flyweight (115 lbs) and bantamweight (118 lbs) - this year in a bid to boost his chances of earning another crack at a world crown, according to his manager lawyer-sportsman Rudy Salud.