By Carlos Costa

World-ranked Filipino featherweight Dave Peñalosa (15-0, 11 KO’s), son of former two-time world champion Dodie Boy Peñalosa, scaled-in at 125 pounds while WBC # 11 “Lights Out” Lerato Dlamini (12-1, 6 KO’s) of South Africa came-in at the limit of the division ahead of their battle for the vacant WBC Silver Featherweight Title.

The Peñalosa vs Dlamini clash of civilizations will unfold tomorrow Friday, July 12, at the King Abdullah Sports Stadium in the City of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia’s port city on the Red Sea.

The rumble is the chief supporting bout for the main-event battle starred by British-Pakistani superstar Amir “King” Khan (33-5, 20 KO’s) against Australian former super bantam and featherweight world titlist Billy Dib (45-5, 26 KO’s) for the vacant WBC International Welterweight belt.

In his last battle last February, the unbeaten Dave Peñalosa overpowered and stopped in four chapters tall, hard-punching Mexican Marcos Cárdenas (19-7-1, 15 KO’s) in a demolition work televised live on ESPN5 Philippines.

Meanwhile, Lerato Dlamini comes from a win by points over Tanzanian Haidari Mchanjo (10-6-4, 4 KO’s), a 10-round duel staged in October of last year.

Present in Jeddah during the weigh-in ceremony was Dave’s uncle, former world-class “Fearless” warrior 2-time world champion Gerry Peñalosa. 

Also right there holding the WBC belt was fight supervisor Michael George of Rhode Island, USA.  The third man for the fight is Juergen Langos of Germany.

“I feel in my heart that this WBC Silver Tite fight is a fantastic window for my nephew Dave (Peñalosa) to display his great boxing skills, speed, power and heart in a great stage against a good boxer like the South African Dlamini.”

The Filipino young gun did his preparation for tomorrow’s rumble in the Philippines’ Queen City of the South, Cebu City, under the supervision of father and coach, Dodie Boy Peñalosa (also a former two-division world champion), while Lerato did his rigorous training in his native rainbow nation of South Africa.

The intriguing fight of “The Hunter” Dave Peñalosa squaring off “Lights Out” Lerato Dlamini for the vacant WBC Silver Featherweight Belt tomorrow, July 12, in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is a production of Super League Boxing, the successful promotion company founded by British businessman Bill Dosanjh and boxing attraction Amir “King” Khan in 2017.

The Jeddah show on July 12is endorsed by the Saudi Sports Authority.

The author Carlos Costa is a Panama man of boxing living in the Philippines. Carlos can be reached at carlos512@hotmail.comand whatsapp/viber/wechat +639184538152.