Peñalosa ready to defend crown vs ‘The Prince’

A light workout at the boxing gym at the Rizal Memorial yesterday capped Gerry Peñalosa’s preparations for his keenly-awaited defense of his World Boxing Council international superflyweight crown against former world champion Keiji "The Prince" Yamaguchi at the Araneta Coliseum tomorrow.

Peñalosa was slightly over the 115-pound limit but the Filipino fighter hopes to shed off the extra poundage in time for the official weigh-in today at the Games and Amusements Board office.

Yamaguchi, nicknamed "The Prince" because he likes to fight in the style of his idol Prince Naseem Hamed, has promised to frustrate Peñalosa before his home fans but the latter vowed to crush the challenger in the fight card billed as "Winning Time: Lakas ng Pinoy."

Yamaguchi refused to display his wares in the press-public preview at the Big Dome on Wednesday, saying instead he will show what he’s got when he enters the ring.

Two explosive matches spice up the event with former WBA minimumweight champion Joma Gamboa facing No. 3 Thai Pigmy Muangchaiya, and unbeaten Randy Suico, boasting of a record of 13-0 with 11 KOs, clashing with former Thai featherweight champion Khumphoon Eausamphan.

The preliminary bouts begin at 6 p.m.