Peñalosa departs today for big fight

The long wait for Gerry Peñalosa to regain the World Boxing Council (WBC) superflyweight crown will soon be over.

Since losing the WBC 115-pound title on a controversial split 12-round decision to In Joo Cho in 1998, Peñalosa has lived only for the day when the throne would be his once more.

Early last year, Peñalosa had a chance to reclaim the championship but lost another split decision to Cho in Seoul. The "defeat" stunk so badly that WBC president Jose Sulaiman kept Peñalosa as the No. 1 contender and ordered a mandatory defense.

Cho, meanwhile, yielded the title to Masamori Tokuyama who has since made two successful defenses.

On Monday, Peñalosa climbs the ring on a mission in Yokohama. He faces Tokuyama in what could be his last chance to recapture the WBC championship.

Today, Peñalosa leaves with manager Rudy Salud and brothers Dodie Boy and Erbing on a Philippine Airlines flight to Tokyo. They are booked at the Grand Palace Hotel from where they will commute to Yokohama for the scheduled 12-round bout.

Others in the traveling party are Salud’s son Chito, fight coordinator George Alcantara, and nutritionist Dr. Sanirose Orbeta and her husband Olegario.

Peñalosa, 29, has trained long and hard for Tokuyama, a third generation North Korean born in Tokyo. He logged over 80 rounds of sparring and shouldn’t find it difficult to make the 115-pound limit at the weigh-in a day before the fight.

Peñalosa yesterday said he’s confident, excited and nervous. Confident because he’s in the best condition of his life. Excited because he’s waited too long for his mandatory crack at the WBC title. And nervous because anything can happen in the ring.

Tokuyama, 27, was born Chang Soo Hong and learned how to fight from his father Shiro, a karate teacher. He compiled a record of 12-5, with two knockouts, as an amateur before turning pro in 1994, five years after Peñalosa’s debut.

Tokuyama has lost only twice in the pros – both to Filipinos. Former International Boxing Federation (IBF) miniflyweight champion Manny Melchor outpointed Tokuyama in Tokyo in 1996 and a year later, Nolito Cabato scored a seventh round technical decision over the stylist who bleaches his hair blond.

"Mabilis at may lakas," said Peñalosa, referring to Tokuyama, after wearing out five tapes of the champion’s fights. Peñalosa noted that Tokuyama likes to weave in and out but lacks the footspeed to escape his attack.

Japanese matchmaker Joe Koizumi cautioned Peñalosa not to take Tokuyama lightly. Koizumi said Tokuyama has improved and gained in confidence since dethroning Cho. Last May, Tokuyama used a single right straight to knock out Cho in the sixth round of a lopsided rematch to raise his record to 24-2-1, with six stoppages.

Cabato, who upset Tokuyama four years ago, said the secret to beating the North Korean is to pressure him from the start. He added that Tokuyama has a limited arsenal of punches, mainly the jab-straight combination, and should be an easy target for Peñalosa whose record is 43-3-2, with 27 knockouts.