Aug. 29
SEOUL, KOREA--Unbeaten Korean speedster INJOO CHO, 115, kept dancing
all
night and was awarded an upset split decision over defending champ
GERRY PANALOSA(right photo), a Filipino lefty at 115, in 12 least spectacular rounds at
Ritz Carlton Hotel Seoul.
It's a terrible bout. It must be a strong candidate for the WBC's Worst Fight of the Year, since there was no actual fight with Cho running around and Penalosa missing plenty all the way.
Scored: Chuck Hasset (California) 117-115 and Chuck Williams (Hawaii) 116-113, both for Cho, and Dalby Shirley (Nevada) 116-112 for Penalosa.
Both of them were counterpunchers that waited for openings patiently. Almost all rounds were hard to score except the 7th when Cho almost toppled the champ with a left hook and furiously followed up with Penalosa saved by the bell.
Cho, formerly an excellent amateur boxer, turned pro in 1992 and kept unbeaten in 12 bouts. The Korean was a tall and lanky footworker, rare among bull-fighting compatriots, so was not so popular among fight fans there. In his 4th pro fight, Cho defeated world-rated Habran Torres, Venezuela, on a hairline decision to enter the top ten. He also decisioned current WBC #2 super-bantam Reynante Jamili and ex-IBF mini-fly champ Tacy Macalos in his 5th and 6th pro bouts, respectively. Partly because of his less exciting style and chiefly because of the recession, Cho was not given an opportunity to fight in a quest for a world throne.
Penalosa, making his 4th defense since dethroning Japan's Hiroshi Kawashima in Feb. of the previous year, seemed to be at a loss in the first 5 rounds due to Cho's nagative run-and-run strategy. The Filipino southpaw maintained the pressure, but seldom threw punches to the elusive target.
Having been encouraged by his brother and cornerman, ex-IBF junior fly and fly champ Dodie Boy Penalosa, Gerry started throwing punches in the 6th, when, however, he suffered a gash on the right side on the skull. Penalosa was temporarily careless when he took a left hook of Cho in the closing seconds of the 7th. He almost hit the deck, and Cho abruptly turned loose to punish the champ with a britzkrieg.
From the 9th onward, Penalosa went forward to retain his title only to miss many punches due to Cho's very fast footwork and fine defensive skill. There were also difficult rounds to score in the second half as in the first half.
The final session saw Penalosa almost floor Cho with a southpaw right hook, but Japanese referee Nobuaki Uratani grabbed Cho's head as he thought Cho was slipping down because of a slippery canvas. It might be a controversial point whether it was a knockdown or a slip. Cho became suddenly positive, throwing very sharp combinations to the fading champ.
Cho, 29, made his first shot at the title successful, and raised his mark to 13-0, 6 KOs. Penalosa, 27, fell to 39-2-2, 24 KOs. The winner of this title bout was obliged to meet the WBC's top contender Joel Luna Zarate, because Penalosa and Zarate fought to a 2nd-round technical draw in Manila last Apr. and the WBC recommended a remtach after Penalosa's successful voluntary defense against Cho. Penalosa was such a highly regarded champ as to be expected to beat the internationally unknown Korean.
If CompuBox had countered punches connected by either, it would not over 50 for each of Penalosa and Cho. It was such a bout with lack of action, gameness and excitement.
Promoter: Punsan Promotions.
WBC supervisor: Chandru Lalwani (Indonesia).
CHUCK HASSET (US)
| - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | TOTAL |
| PENALOSA | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 115 |
| CHO | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 117 |
CHUCK WILLIAMS (US)
| - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | TOTAL |
| PENALOSA | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 113 |
| CHO | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 116 |
DALBY SHIRLEY (US)
| - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | TOTAL |
| PENALOSA | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 116 |
| CHO | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 112 |
REFEREE: NOBUAKI URATANI (JAPAN)
REMARKS: This reporter feels sorry to have delayed this report. There was a probably acceptable reason for this delay. Yours truly didn't go and see this fight in Korea, as he had expected Penalosa's easy defense over Cho. So, the news that Penalosa lost really stunned this reporter. A certain manager of a Japanese WBA world champ went to see this fight with my arrangement, and he felt that Penalosa should have been a winner due to his constant pressure. A certain Filipino reporter, who saw this fight on TV in Manila, said that it wasn't a controversial decision, as Penalosa didn't connect with so many punches as to be a victor. Therefore, this reporter waited to see this fight on a videotape. Yours truly may not have a qualification to discuss a matter as to which the winner should be in such a close and actionless bout. But, for your reference, this reporter describes his impression definitely on viewing it on a videotape, as follows:
JOE KOIZUMI (JAPAN)
| - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | TOTAL |
| PENALOSA | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 116 |
| CHO | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 114 |
It was hard to give the 2nd and the 8th rounds to either from the
viewpoint just on a videotape. This reporter saw Cho's 12th-round
near-slip to the canvas could be declared a knockdown, so gave it to
Penalosa despite Cho's domination of the final session.
(8-29-98)