Peñalosa stakes title vs Avila

WBC International super flyweight champion Gerry Peñalosa defends his title in a "must win" battle against interim champion Joel Avila in a blockbuster fight card billed "Mayhem in Makati" at the Makati Coliseum on March 2.

In the main supporting bout, WBC International bantamweight champion Abner Cordero, fresh from victory in a bloody brawl with Joel Junio in San Fernando, Pampanga late last year, clashes with No. 2 featherweight contender Raffy Aladi, a slugger from Baguio City, over 10 rounds.

Also featured on the undercard are No. 6 light flyweight Gerald Ubatay against Luzon Professional Boxing Association No. 1 Enting Ignacio while undefeated super flyweight contender Rolando Gerongco from Cebu City, who is rated No. 8, faces flashy "Flash" Morillo, in two additional 10-round bouts.

Peñalosa returned to Manila yesterday after a training stint at the Baguio City gym of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines. The former world champion, who has been promised a mandatory shot at the world crown currently held by Japan-born North Korean Masamori Tokuyama, looked trim and sharp in sparring sessions with Aladi.

PeÒalosa said he realized that he must win impressively against Avila, a tough challenger, to be worthy of the title shot promised him by WBC chairman Jose Sulaiman, who upheld the protest filed by PeÒalosaís manager lawyer Rudy Salud, at the last WBC convention in Pattaya, Thailand.

Salud protested the failure of the referee to penalize Tokuyama for repeated head-butts, which opened up several cuts on PeÒalosa, as well as a number of low blows.