Pacquiao mitts guy loses bout with ‘Big C’
Jonathan Peñalosa (right) will be remembered as the man who whipped Manny Pacquiao into fighting form.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF WENDELL ALINEA
Former world flyweight title challenger Jonathan Peñalosa, who came from an illustrious boxing family, passed away Monday in Bacolod City.
A member of Manny Pacquiao’s training team, Peñalosa was 57. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer last month.
Pacquiao even visited Peñalosa last week.
During his professional career, Peñalosa logged a 15-4-1 win-loss-draw record with seven knockouts.
In March 1992, he was leading on the scorecards when he got knocked out by Korean Kim Yong Kang in a bid to wrest the World Boxing Association 112-pound crown in Incheon.
In his stint with Pacquiao’s team, Peñalosa served as a mitts guy of the eight-division legend.
He was the son of the late Philippine champion Carl Peñalosa Sr. and brother of former world champions Dodie Boy and Gerry Peñalosa and trainer Carl Jr.
He was also widely credited for training the hottest Filipino world title prospect Kenneth Llover, the reigning Orient-Pacific Boxing Federation bantamweight champion.