Peñalosa remains WBC int’l champ

The World Boxing Council has ruled that Gerry Penalosa should keep his title as WBC superflyweight international champion.

Mauro Betti, chair of the WBC international championship committee, said Peñalosa's recent fight for the WBC world title did not automatically leave vacant the international title he held before the world title bout.

Betti said there had been a "misunderstanding with the GAB (Games and Amusements Board)" that he had relinquished his title.

In a letter to Peñalosa’s manager, lawyer Rudy Salud, Betti said ‘‘it is now obvious to everyone" that the WBC was led to believe that Peñalosa had ‘‘decided to relinquish his prestigious WBC International crown voluntarily."

The GAB had erroneously believed that by fighting for the world title, Peñalosa had automatically relinquished his International crown which is the rule in the Orient Pacific Boxing Federation. However, the WBC has no such rule and Betti said that after discussions with WBC chairman Jose Sulaiman, GAB boxing division chief Noli Flores and Salud ‘‘it is now clear that Gerry Peñalosa is definitely confirmed as the reigning WBC International super flyweight champion."

Betti also said that in the meantime ‘‘on a very special and extraordinary basis" the WBC had approved an ‘‘interim championship" on Dec. 22 in San Fernando, Pampanga between Philippine champion Joel Avila, rated No. 29 by the WBC and Juhnver Halog rated No. 30.

The WBC official also said he believes a title defense by Peñalosa against former WBC flyweight champion Malcolm Tuñacao ‘‘would certainly be a great WBC International Championship" adding that Peñalosa ‘‘still has a lot of championship juice left."

Salud disclosed that Peñalosa is lined up to fight the winner of the Avila-Halog interim title fight within 60 days after which he would defend the title against Tuñacao in Cebu in June, should he win.