Source: Philboxing
The rumored rematch between WBO super bantamweight champion Daniel Ponce de Leon and WBO bantamweight strapholder Gerry Penalosa is now most likely to be seen on the undercard of the December 8 pay-per-view main evented by the superstar showdown between Floyd Mayweather, Jr., and Ricky Hatton.
Ponce de Leon (33-1, 30 KO) defeated Penalosa via unanimous decision in the featured undercard bout of March's Barrera-Marquez pay-per-view. The bout was highly competitive, and some questioned the lopsided official scores in Ponce de Leon's favor. The veteran Filipino was seen by most to be lined up as a knockout victim of the Mexican bomber, but instead, he hung tough, repeatedly frustrating Ponce de Leon, and avoiding being hit with the big power shots. On my card, I had it 115-113 for Ponce de Leon.
Since then, Ponce de Leon has won two times. On September 28, he knocked out Reynaldo Lopez in the fifth round on a small casino card in Cabazon, California, mostly just to stay busy. This came after his first round destruction of Filipino super prospect Rey Bautista in August. With wins over Penalosa and Bautista, Ponce de Leon could be becoming a reverse Manny Pacquiao; the Mexican that hammers the Filipinos.
Penalosa returned to the ring on the same card as Ponce de Leon-Bautista, fighting on the Boxing After Dark double main event against then-bantamweight champion Jhonny Gonzalez. With Gonzalez controlling the fight with his jab, Penalosa popped him with a vicious body shot in the seventh round, scoring an upset knockout. The 35-year old Penalosa (52-6-2, 35 KO) has said that he may fight just once more before retiring. If he were to win a rematch against Ponce de Leon in a fight as good as the first, though, we could see a third.
The fight appears to be all but signed for December 8, with Penalosa telling Philboxing.com, "I am currently negotiating for my purse, plus tickets for six persons and accomodations. If the promoters can give me that, then we have a fight."