Negrense world boxing champion Gerry Peñalosa will not leave anything to chance when he defends his World Boxing Organization bantamweight crown against Thai Sor Vorapin on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

“I am concentrating on Vorapin. I will not give him a chance,” the southpaw from San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, said during the weekly PSA Forum in Manila.

Peñalosa knocked out Vorapin eight years ago in Manila and the Filipino thinks he can duplicate the feat.

“Definitely, we’ll be going for a knockout if there is an opening,” Peñalosa, 35, said.

But the Filipino is cautious at the same time, saying his opponent also trained hard and wants to avenge his loss.

A victory over Vorapin would open the gates for more lucrative fights for Peñalosa, who won the crown in August last year at the expense of Mexican Jhonny Gonzalez in Sacramento, California as part of the Boxing World Cup: Philippines vs. Mexico.

Peñalosa has expressed his desire to fight WBO super-bantamweight king Daniel Ponce de Leon, who beat him via unanimous decision in March 2007.

Another possible opponent is Rafael Marquez, younger brother of former WBC super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez.

In a report posted on philboxing.com, Cebu-based promoter Sammy Gello-ani and Golden Boy Promotions publicist Ramiro Gonzales said the fight serves as a perfect stepping stone for Penalosa in his bid to have another shot against the mean-punching de Leon.

“This fight is very, very important for him (Peñalosa) since there’s a lot of options waiting for him,” said Gonzales of the unsinkable Filipino ring hero, whom he describes as a boxer with “power, knows how to fight and is very intelligent inside the ring.”

Gello-ani said that, aside from Morales, rising local boxers AJ Banal and Ray “Boom Boom” Bautista are also set to see action as part of the undercard that also features boxers from Uruguay, Mexico, Korea and Indonesia.

Vorapin and the rest of the foreign fighters are arriving in the country today. The formal press conference for the boxing card is set tomorrow at the Mandarin suite of the Gateway Mall at the Araneta Center in Cubao.

The official weigh-in is scheduled on Saturday morning, Gello-ani said.*CPT

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