Peñalosa finalizes picks for reality show

FORMER world champion and current boxing promoter Gerry Peñalosa has picked four boxers that stood out in last Tuesday’s tryout, March 26, at the Cebu City Sports Center (CSSC) boxing gym.

The retired two-division world champion, however, will still be waiting on the two other tryouts of ESPN5 and GerryPens Promotions’ new boxing reality show - “Next Boxing Superstar”.

“Yes we already made our choice. It will be finalized next week because we’ll still be waiting for the Mindanao and Luzon tryouts,” Peñalosa, the former World Boxing Council super flyweight and World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight champion, told SunStar Cebu. “I have seen two flyweights and two bantamweights.”

A total of six flyweights and six bantamweights showed up for the Cebu tryouts, ranging from fighters with no pro experience, unbeaten upstarts, to a fighter that has more than 10 fights.

The flyweights who tried out were Jim Paul Dignos, John Paul Gabunilas, Rolly Durong, Eduardo Jimenez, Arian Melgo (1-0, 1 KO) and April Jay Abne (1-0, 1 KO). The bantamweights that showed up were George Pasculado, Rimon Rama (6-1, 4 KOs), Lenjun Retuerto (4-0, 4 KOs), Rafael Sueno (3-3, 3 KOs), BJ Wild (2-0, 2 KOs) and John Kenan Villaflor (8-5, 3 KOs).

The Mindanao tryouts was held on Friday, March 29, while the Luzon tryouts, which will be in Manila, is scheduled on April 2.

The preliminary round and semifinals of the tournament will be held in Manila, while the finals depend on where the two finalists are from.

The preliminary round kicks off on May 23, while the semifinals start on July 5.

The tournament is focused on discovering boxing’s next superstar.