Tell me about Gerry Penalosa

Gerry Penalosa was one-paced. Too casual for his own good. This is what lost him the fight against Ponce De Leon in addition to his losses down at Super Flyweight against In Joo Cho and Masamori Tokuyama, three fights I scored in his favour incidentally. I also thought he did enough to earn the nod over Morel. He's been unlucky with decisions.

Both Tokuyama and Cho were lanky fighters, they would stay on the outside and shoot out their jab and throw pawing shots behind it. Neither were as good as Penalosa, but he allowed them to win rounds with these tactics instead of stepping outside of his comfort zone and putting on the pressure. It was never a question of stamina, I just think Penalosa only knew how to fight one way. He was a counter puncher and often had trouble leading.

Weaknesses? Already touched upon most of them. One-paced, casual, and this allowed him to be outworked on multiple occasions. What Penalosa had going for him was a very efficient defence and great hands. He could mix up his combinations to body and head very smoothly. Decent puncher and sporting a very impressive chin. Never down as a professional to my knowledge.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShusWmR-rCI[/ame]


Here he is winning his first world title. Great performance.

 

Spot-on 'n beautifully expressed, A. Bowled over someone so young could be so boxing savvy.

For all the short-comings you point out, Gerry was a FIGHTER'S FIGHTER. The best in the world stopped what they were doing to watch him spar at Wild Card.

His short right hook was a thing of beauty. He was almost invisible when he stopped working-out. Had the serenity of a monk.

 

:good Thanks, JG.

I've been a big fan of Penalosa for awhile. The first time I saw him was in his fight with Ponce De Leon. Jim Watt may have been scoring all of the rounds for the opponent, but it was Gerry who caught my eye with his beautiful countering. He looked the part in that fight, I couldn't believe the scores were so wide. That's been the story of his career, unfortunately.

 

Ifya love the sweet science, ya'd have ta love Gerry.

Can well understand the brick-bats for his never putting the pedal to the metal. But the other side of the coin was his calm in the storm. He didn't rattle.

To see him pick guys apart sparring was a textbook come to life.

 

Truer words never spoken. One of the most aesthetically pleasing fighters I have ever seen.

Here he is beating the current IBF Super Flyweight champion, Tomas Rojas.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klrAkDd5D90[/ame]

 

Some nice posts here, Addie and john look like they've got the bases covered. Gerry is one of the relatively few fighters from the last 15 or so years who I can see myself looking back on with genuine fondness in the years to come. As with most of the other divisions the lower weights of recent times haven't been at their strongest historically; enough so that a fighter of Penalosa's schooling, toughness and zenlike temperament has been nice to observe. The simple awareness of how to position himself to pursue subtle, economic movement along the varying integrated planes of attack and defence would have stood him in better stead if it weren't for the Eubank/Toney/Starling/ Finneganesque lack of urgency and acceleration on the front foot. Especially at a time when the comp has been comparitively average as mentioned, when titles are easier to pick up and when he had the full toolbox of punches and accompanying power/toughness to make people pay. It doesn't bother me too much though when the man was able to make a prizefight look like a stroll through the grounds of a Buddhist Retreat (though 37 out of 55 might disagree).

I haven't scored the Cho, Tokuyama, Morel and DeLeon fights, but like Addie says, Penalosa probably has an argument for winning all 5. My abiding memory of the last fight in particular is of Gerry's short right hook working away without fail like a metronome on the left side of DeLeon's kite all evening. And all while taking back reasonably little in return (and barely blinking when DeLeons ugly, winging clubs landed).

A good little champion. A very good little champion who might have been given a better break or two at times.

 

Pleasure ta read your post, TR -- both the writing, knowledge 'n evaluation of Gerry.

 

Thanks jg, there isn't much higher praise if any on here than that which comes from you. It's nice to see a fellow of your knowledge and unique experience professing appreciation at having witnessed Gerry's abilities up close.