BECAUSE of the logistical nightmare of staging a boxing event during the Covid-19 pandemic, former world champion-turned-boxing promoter Gerry Peñalosa decided to just hold a lone bout in his upcoming boxing event on Oct. 23, 2021 in Gen. Santos City.
Gerry Pens Promotions promoted fighter Criztian Pitt Laurente will take on grizzled veteran Ernie Sanchez at the Bawing Gym.
“It’ll only be one fight,” Peñalosa told SunStar Cebu. “It’ll still be against Sanchez. This will keep Pitt busy. It’s very hard for the boxers to travel to Gen. Santos. There will be a 14-day quarantine. It’s very hard to promote in these times.”
The 21-year-old Laurente, a native of Gen. Santos City, has already fought twice in 2021. He defeated Ernesto Saulong by unanimous decision in what was his stiffest test to date and then handily beat Kim Lindog by a third round knockout.
Sanchez should be a good test for Laurente. The 29-year-old journeyman has fought some elite fighters—the likes of World Boxing Council (WBC) super bantamweight king Rey Vargas, WBC featherweight title holder Oscar Valdez, ex-International Boxing Federation light welterweight titlist Sergey Lepinets and former World Boxing Organization super featherweight champion Masayuki Ito.
Sanchez is currently in a slump and lost his last four fights, with his latest loss, a unanimous decision against Tomjune Mangubat.
Laurente, a former member of the Philippine national boxing youth team, is 7-0 with four knockouts, while the 29-year-old Sanchez is 19-16-1 with 10 knockouts.
Peñalosa plans to send Laurente to train and fight in the United States next year.