Mexican fighters to stake titles vs Filipinos in US

The Mexicans are defending their crown against Filipino boxers in the 2007 World Cup. According to a www.philboxing.com report, the main event of the card will feature WBO junior featherweight world champion Daniel Ponce De Leon of Chihuahua, Mexico defending his title against Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista. Co-featured in the August 11th bout at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California, is the title bout between Jhonny Gonzalez of Mexico City and former world champion Gerry Penalosa of Cebu. Gonzalez will be staking his WBO bantamweight crown. The event, presented by Golden Boy Promotions in cooperation with SGG Sports Promotions and international match maker Sampson Lewkowicz, will be televised by HBO Boxing After Dark. A number of undercards with Mexican and Philippine boxers will also be included in the event. Golden Boy Promotions said that an engraved trophy made by IceLink - a leading jewelry manufacturer in the world - will be given to the counry with the most wins. Daniel Ponce de Leon is considered as one of the fast-rising boxing star with a 31-1, 28 knockouts, card. He outpointed Thailand's Sod Looknongyangtoy in 12 rounds in Oct. 29, 2005 to gain his first world title. He defended the title last July in just 52 seconds. In October, De Leon again successfully defended the title with an eighth round blowout of Al Seeger. His fourth title defense was against Gerry Penalosa last March and again won the match. Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista (23-0, 17 KO's), 20 years old, is a dangerous 122-pounder and a strong contender for a world title. A WBO Intercontinental and WBO youth super bantamweight titlist, Bautista's victory was a unanimous decision triumph over Sergio Medina. Jhonny Gonzalez (34-5, 29 KO's) bagged his first world title in October of 2005 when he stopped 73 fight veteran Ratanachai Sor Vorapin in seven rounds. For an encore, Gonzalez has knocked out future hall of famer Mark 'Too Sharp' Johnson and decisioned two division world champion Fernando Montiel. Now, after falling short in his bid to win a 122 pound title by losing in a classic fight to Israel Vazquez last September, Gonzalez, who most recently stopped Irene Pacheco in nine rounds in March, returns to clean out the rest of the 118 pound division. Gerry Peñalosa (51-6-2, 34 KO's), a seasoned southpaw with close to 18 years experience as a pro, has gone 5-1 with three knockouts since his return to the ring in 2004 after a two year layoff. He is a former WBC Super Flyweight World Champion with three defenses under his belt who impressively stopped highly regarded contender Mauricio Martinez in October of 2006. On March 17th of this year, Peñalosa lost a controversial 12 round decision to young gun Daniel Ponce De Leon. On August 11th, he'll get another shot at a world championship belt when he battles Johnny Gonzalez. - GMANews.TV