Fire Quinito gathers all the essential reading before the Penalosa-Lopez bout, so you can save time to ponder the implications of Marian Rivera being the new Darna.



Recah Trinidad, Inquirer: "It's too late, there’s no way we can stop it now, so let’s all join hands and pray, fervently please, that Gerry Peñalosa comes out of the mismatch in one piece. Dear Gerry, an old, fading street car, has been ranged against a great, gleaming lamppost. Other than the discrepancy, they’ll also do battle in Puerto Rico, not in a neutral street corner. If we still have time – they fight tomorrow – let’s all petition the health officer in Bayamon, not too far from the birthplace of Juan Manuel Lopez in Caguas, to make sure an ambulance is on stand by."

Doug Fischer, The Ring Magazine: "Penalosa (54-6-2, 36 KOs) is one of the sport’s most well-preserved world-class veterans. The Philippines-born southpaw is a complete fighter with skill, technique and athleticism that is on par with elite advanced-age fighters like Bernard Hopkins, Juan Manuel Marquez and Shane Mosley. Penalosa also possesses a warrior’s heart that matches those pound-for-pound entrants, and he truly believes his combination of skill, experience and courage will be enough to upset the young KO artist."

Gabriel Montoya, Max Boxing: "Unlike some fighters who prefer to get themselves in the best shape and feel that being at their peak is enough to win, Lopez spends his time watching lots of tape, thinking constantly of his opponent, and tailoring his approach to suit his needs. From the heavy bag to the ring to the video room, knowledge of his opponent is what brings Lopez confidence going forward."

Tim Starks, The Queensberry Rules: "Penalosa is 36. I can't say he looks it. I spent tonight watching his last few fights, and he's as good as ever. He's smooth. He's intelligent, and making matters worse for his opponents, he's trained by Freddie Roach, as intelligent a coach as you can find. He can counterpunch, or he can be the aggressor. His defense is pretty tight, and he's never been seriously hurt. He's not amazingly fast, but he's fast enough that, with the rest of his skills, he's usually the guy hitting and not getting hit. Sometimes when I watch him, I think it's a wonder he ever lost, which he's done six times in 62 fights. All six were close decisions. But he's not perfect. In one of his best wins, against Jhonny Gonzalez, he was getting beat for, oh, about seven rounds, before he landed a killer body shot that put Gonzalez down for the count in the 7th."

Steve Kim, Max Boxing: "Lopez has been blitzing guys early, and the key, according to Roach, is to take him out to the deep blue waters. 'The thing is, Lopez has been going in there blowing guys away and that's not going to happen with Gerry Penalosa. He better be ready to go some rounds,' said the respected trainer. 'I told Gerry that the first four rounds, it's the toughest fight you've ever had, you'll have to bite down and fight this guy, show him some power, make him respect you in the first round. The first four rounds will be really hard, but I believe the fight will get easier for us as we go on.'"

Maxirap, Bad Left Hook: "Juanma is not a combination puncher and he will need to be, to subdue Penalosa. Ponce De Leon managed for a few rounds to keep Penalosa quiet as he threw non-stop combinations. These were wild and left him open to Penalosa's precision counter-punches, but at least he was able to fend off the Philapeano. Penalosa will protect his head and willingly soak up punishment to the body and perhaps we will see how brutal Juanma is when he lays in to Penalosa's exposed ribs."

James Slater, East Side Boxing: "Fast, accurate and just naturally heavy-handed, Lopez has yet to allow anyone to really test him. This is not to suggest the champion has not proven he can go rounds if need be - he has proven that his power is still as fierce in the late rounds of a fight, winning as he has by KO in the 10th round of a fight. But, on the whole, Lopez does not hang around, and the quick KO more often than not comes. There is always the concern of what may happen if Lopez actually fails to get his man out of there, but so far 'Juanma' has given no indications that he has any stamina issues. Penalosa's best bet, and surely the tactics he will take, will be to get through the perilously dangerous opening rounds, and then come on and box his man late. Will he be able to do this? Though he has never been stopped before the Filipino's best days came at lower weights, and his chin's reliability was proven there (although he did, in a losing challenge to then WBO super-bantam champ de Leon, manage to last the full 12). Sure, Penalosa has made a successful move up to bantamweight, but going up yet again, to face one of the hardest and fastest hitters in the sport? This may be a case of his biting off more than he can chew."