Gerry Penalosa

At 51 years old, Gerry Penalosa has this physical status:

Gerónimo "Gerry" Peñalosa (born August 7, 1972) is a Filipino former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2010.

He is a two-weight world champion, having held the WBC and lineal super flyweight titles from 1997 to 1998, and the WBO bantamweight title from 2007 to 2009.

Originally from San Carlos City, Peñalosa currently resides in Manila.

He was trained mainly by Freddie Roach, and went on to become a boxing trainer himself after retirement.

Peñalosa's older brother, Dodie Boy Peñalosa, is also a former boxer and world champion.

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Professional career

Pechalosa became a professional in 1989. He made his Fidel Jubay debut on May 20, 1989, and defeated the Fidel Jubay by a narrow margin.

With a victory over Hiroshi Kawashima on February 27, 1997, he captured the WBC and lineal super flyweight championship, and has been back to defend the title three times since.

On September 29, 1998, he claimed it on points to In-Joo Cho. He had a rematch with Cho to regain the crown two years ago but he was disqualified again by a contentious unanimous decision.

He defeated Masamori Tokuyama, who then succeeded Cho in the WBC super flyweight champion on September 24, 2001. However, he was dissatisfied by yet another contentious split decision. On December 20, 2002, the two teams met again, but the result was the same, in Tokuyama's favor. Pelosa was a little girl last year, but she was a bit late.

Pealosa returned to boxing two years ago. On November 7, 2004, he defeated Bangsaen Sithpraprom for the World Boxing Foundation (WBFo) super flyweight title.

He met Daniel Ponce de León, who then held the WBO super bantamweight title, on March 17, 2007. Pepelosa demonstrated his intelligence, commanding skills, and defensive abilities in the battle. De León, a knockout performer, could not land a solid blow on Pealosa. Pealosa responded with stinging counters that enraged De Leon. Although De Leon was the busier boxer, the bulk of his punches fell into the air and onto Pepelosa's gloves. However, De Leon was able to win by unanimous vote.

At the Arco Arena in Sacramento, California, California, the veteran Filipino boxer faced Jhonny González of Mexico for the WBO bantamweight title. At the 7th round, Pealosa lost weight and dethroned the Mexican fighter.

With crisp jabs, the younger fighter appeared to be in command of the game in the early rounds, keeping the much shorter Pealosa away from the crowded arena. Despite being struck by some of the Mexicans' punches, Pealosa remained patient and pressed forward. Pealosa had a chance in the seventh round after Gonzales launched a solid right that missed Pealosa's head. Gonzalez struggled to move his arm back quickly and into a short time, leaving a hole for the veteran fighter who threw a precise and strong left hook to Gonzalez's body. The defending champ collapsed on the ground a few seconds after being greeted with the counter-attack; the Mexican attempted to get up and fight again, but the Mexican refused to do it because the canvas was still empty. Pealosa's second world championship in ten years.

In the eighth round of the world championship holder Ratanachai Sor Vorapin of Thailand, he defended the title in Quezon City, Philippines.

It was his second time he confronted Sor Vorapin, who lost in both matches.

Pealosa faced German Meraz of Mexico at the Cebu Coliseum in Cebu, Philippines, on February 21, 2009; the two fought in the main event of the "Battle of the Bantamweights" card. The WBO championship was not in play. After ten rounds, the Filipino boxer won the fight by unanimous decision.

According to a survey by Philboxing.com, Manny Pacquiao-Marco Barrera rematch in Las Vegas, Pealosa, and Jorge Arce of Mexico nearly ended in a fist fight. The two boxers pushed their way out of the Mandalay Bay Events Center. According to the boxing website, it was Arce who pushed Pealosa to a fight. At the time, Pealosa was believed to be travelling with his wife Goody and Japanese associate Kosuke Washio. Arce was apparently irritated after one spectator told him after seeing Pealosa that the Filipino boxer is more popular than him. According to the article, the proud Mexican did not like the remarks and immediately confronted the Filipino world champion. Pe'alosa was apparently irked by Arce's actuations and attempted to imitate the Mexican boxer, but Goody prevailed.

Juan Manuel López, the Puerto Rican sensation, later fought in Puerto Rico against Puerto Rico's Juan Manuel López for the WBO Super Bantamweight Championship. Since the two fighters were both holders of WBO World titles, the showdown was categorized as a Champion versus Champion match. Pealosa had the bantamweight title, and Lopez had the super bantamweight belt.

Both pugilists changed combinations early in the game, with López gaining a marginal advantage by striking Pealosa's head and body. In the third and fourth rounds, the pattern continued, with the challenger defending despite receiving more fire. Both pugilists swapped combinations between the fifth and sixth chapters, with Pealosa scoring his most solid punches. López managed to establish command of the offensive's speed during the first two rounds, but Pealosa continued using his counterattack. Freddie Roach, Pealosa's manager, warned him that if you win by knocking out, the game will be called off. The pattern remained in the round, with few variations, except when it was over Roach who had the fight. López became the first boxer to beat the veteran by knockout after this technological knockout.

"He (Lopez) was too heavy for me," the Filipino boxer said after the fight. I could feel his punches. But I hope he wasn't lying after the fact that he said I felt my punches too. I was the underdog, but I gave it my best. I trained hard for the fight. Then Pealosa spoke about a potential retirement after one last fight, and he wants to keep his gloves as a champion. Many people, including members of his family and his buddy Manny Pacquiao, wanted Pealosa to stop boxing by now, but the sport has nothing more to prove.

Pealosa was barred from his bantamweight title in April before facing WBO junior featherweight champion Juan Manuel López.

However, Peelosa has opted to fight for one more time. Several tough boxers had been considered his potential successors, including Jorge Arce, Daniel Ponce de Leon, Eric Morel, and Vic Darchinyan.

At the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada, Pealosa defeated Eric Morel (41-2) of Puerto Rico for the interim WBO bantamweight title. Manny Pacquiao, a veteran fighter who served at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles under coach Freddie Roach's supervision, as well as Filipino prospect Bernabe Concepcion and seven-division world champion Manny Pacquiao. The brawl took place on the "Pinoy Power 3" card, in which four other Filipino boxers battled. Pealosa lost the match due to a contentious Split decision.

The Puerto Ricans continued to stick and move in the first round, while Pealosa assumed the role of the aggressor. Morel's early rounds were a little more active. Pealosa suffered a poor start in the 2nd round, and the team was given some time to recover. A cut in the Filipino's right eye was revealed in the 6th round, but a few minutes later, another headbutt opened a serious laceration over Pelosa's left eye. During the next rounds, the injury bled profusely, but the competitor was able to hurt him with punches and seemed to take over the fight. The bleeding clearly bothered him, the "fearless" boxer opened fire as Morel continued to protect him. Pelosa continued to progress through the championship rounds, while Morel continued to jab and fade, while Morel looked to jab and decline. Pealosa fought hard during the last rounds, but apparently wasn't doing enough to please the judges. The fight was 115-113 and 116-112 for Morel, while Pealosa's third and final card scored the match 113-115. Pealosa's FightFan.com had a 115-113 record during the match. Several people have even suggested that the Filipino boxer over the Puerto Ricans, including his coach, Freddie Roach, and Manny Pacquiao.

Following the brawl against Morel, Pealosa announced that he would fight against Yodsaen Kietmang Mee of Thailand for one last time on October 10, 2010. The Filipino pugilist also announced that the proceeds from the match would be donated to Z Gorres to help him with his medical expenses. The case, titled "Golpe Golpe na Zamboanga: The Last Hurrah," was held at the Zamboanga City Coliseum. In the 4th round, the former world champion defeated the fight by TKO.

Pealosa finished his 21-year career with a record of 55 victories, 37 knockouts, 8 losses, and 2 draws.

After retiring as a fighter, he became a boxing promoter with his nephew, Dave Pealosa, who was among the boxers in his collection.

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