Moments ago at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, former champion Eric Morel escaped with a highly questionable split decision over fellow former champ Gerry Penalosa. Despite appearing to land the more effective shots all night, Penalosa came up short on two of the judges’ cards.
The first round saw Morel gain a slight edge as he circled his older foe, looking sharp as he landed the occasional one-two. Penalosa, as has always been the case, pushed forward with little emotion showing on his face.
Penalosa picked things up a bit in the second, landing a nice right hand to Morel’s body. Morel wisely continued to box from a distance, using his length to his advantage. The early ringside buzz on the fight was that it was a pick em’ type of fight that could go in favor of either guy.
Rounds three and four were slow stanzas as neither man could fully take control of the action. If anything Penalosa seemed to slowly be on his way to feeling out Morel, who saw his inactivity drop noticeably as the fight wore on.
The fifth round was Penalosa’s best of the night as he broke through with a crashing left hand that seemed to stun Morel momentarily. Morel was showing excellent coordination but wasn’t able to mount any kind of attack against his San Carlos City foe.
The crowd began to chant for Penalosa in the seventh as it appeared Morel was content to move and box away from danger. Unfortunately the chants died down as the action also came to a standstill.
The eighth was another solid round for Penalosa, who had tagged Morel repeatedly with flush counter shots. Morel was having trouble coping with Penalosa’s southpaw attack and the fight looked to be slipping out of his reach.
Morel seemed to realize that he needed to do something to change the tide of the bout and came out stronger in the ninth. Morel began to turn his focus to the body but his shots didn’t appear to be fazing Penalosa. Later in the round Penalosa landed a clean left-right combination that rocked Morel’s head back.
The championship rounds saw a bloodied Penalosa press with his attack and he seemed to be edging the rounds with his desire and activity. Morel is obviously a student with much craft to his game but he was unwilling to engage enough to make an imprint in the fight.
Still, Morel and his team celebrated upon news that he was the winner of a split decision victory. Upon hearing the decision Penalosa threw his arms in the air and his face told the tale of a man full of much agony, obviously baffled with the call.
Morel will now challenge WBO Bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel, who blasted out Ciso Morales in the first round following the Morel-Penalosa scrap.
Chris Robinson is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. He can be reached at Trimond@aol.com, www.Twitter.com/CRHarmony, and www.Facebook.com/CRHarmony.
Source: examiner.com
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