MANILA, 27 December 2002 — Could this be the end of the road for former world champion Gerry Peñalosa?
The Filipino prizefighter lost again to his former tormentor, Masamori Tokuyama, in their rematch at the Castle Hall in Osaka, Japan, recently.
Peñalosa failed in his third attempt to regain the World Boxing Council (WBC) superflyweight title after a split verdict in their 12-round bout came in favor of the Japan-based North Korean champion Tokuyama.
It was a repeat performance for Tokuyama, who also won a close battle against the San Carlos City southpaw last year.
The 30-year-old Filipino lost by the skin of his teeth to the 28-year-old opponent who frustrated him in his bid to recapture the world crown on a disputed points verdict last year.
Since losing the WBC belt to In Joo Cho of South Korea in 1998, Peñalosa was foiled in three attempts to win it back
His fight against Tokuyama, gave Peñalosa a golden opportunity to reclaim the title he held from 1997 to 1998 until he lost it to Cho.
His first attempt was a rematch versus Cho last January 2000 where he lost what many believed was a controversial decision. His second stab at the title was September of last year which was derailed by Tokuyama, who incidentally had dethroned Cho.
After his loss to Tokuyama, Peñalosa scored three consecutive victories this year against Joel Avila last March (TD 8), Oscar Andrade in May (UD) and Seiji Tanaka last August (TKO 7).
“I thought we had it,” said lawyer Chito Salud who sat beside his father Rudy, Peñalosa’s manager, at ringside. “Of course, my dad is sad for Gerry because his future is not fully established and this had to happen again. Dad gave Gerry all the opportunities. It’s unfortunate that the results were not as we hoped.”
His manager did everything possible in persuading WBC president Jose Sulaiman to give Peñalosa a first, second, and third shot at regaining the throne.
Peñalosa’s controversial defeat to Tokuyama on a disputed 12-round decision in Yokohama last year prompted the Filipino’s manager to protest the verdict, pointing out that referee Larry O’Connell failed to penalize Tokuyama for repeated headbutting which opened six cuts on his ward’s face.
Sulaiman upheld the protest, reinstated Peñalosa as the No. 1 contender, and ordered Tokuyama to stake the crown once more against Peñalosa in a mandatory defense.
Tokuyama, whose real name is Hong Chang-Soo, fended off a tough challenge from Peñalosa. The hometown favorite fought back after trailing behind on points in the early rounds by connecting several right jabs to the stomach in the tenth round to narrowly win in a split decision.
Two judges scored it 114-113 in favor of the champion, while the other judge had it 116-111 for the challenger.
There were no knockdowns in the scheduled 12 rounds.
A tight-guarded Peñalosa, who became the champion in February 1997 by beating Japan’s Hiroshi Kawashima, often hit a left straight to the face, rarely giving the champion to hit back.
Tokuyama tried to fight at close range, accidentally drawing blood from Peñalosa’s temple in the third round, earning him a penalty point.
Peñalosa continued to connect with left-handed combinations of jabs, hooks and cross-jabs to take the next rounds.
Tokuyama began to fight back in the sixth, connecting jabs and hooks, but was unable to hit a decisive punch. He also cut his right eyelid in the ninth round before unleashing his rights to the stomach.
It was also a sixth defense of the title Tokuyama wrested from Cho In-Joo of South Korea in August 2000, stretching his record to 28 wins, including eight KOs, against two defeats and a draw.
The 31-year-old Peñalosa, ranked top in the WBC, saw his record fell to 46 wins, including 29 KOs, against five defeats and two draws.
And most probably, there will be no fourth attempt for the hard-luck Peñalosa even as each of the three defeats in his record was marked by controversial, if not dubious, circumstances.
Another thing that probably could endanger Peñalosa’s fourth bid to regain the world title because of his defeat to Tokuyama is the possibility of losing his manager.
Salud had earlier hinted that he may give up his position should Peñalosa lose to Tokuyama.
It was under Salud where Peñalosa got a chance to have a high-profile training regimen in the United States, first at boxing champion Roy Jones’ gym in Florida, and later at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym.
Penalosa’s future is now uncertain, according to his wife Goody
He will have to study his options with the Saluds after the holidays. At the moment, his priority is to enjoy being with his wife and their two children.
There is talk that Japanese promoter Akihiko Honda is interested in taking over Peñalosa’s career.
Salud will most likely retire as Peñalosa’s manager even if his contract doesn’t expire until June.
“Maybe, Gerry will be lucky with another manager,” Salud had said.
Peñalosa’s American trainer Freddie Roach, who is credited with having turned International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior featherweight champion Manny Pacquiao into a world champion and a merciless fighting machine, was just as disappointed.
Peñalosa left Manila last April to train at Roach’s Wild Card gym in Hollywood. He honed his skills under Roach’s supervision and went through grueling sparring sessions with the likes of Mexican Carlos (El Terrore) Madrigal and Hawaii-born Filipino Brian Viloria.
