Farenas goes for broke

For hard-hitting Sorsogon slugger Michael Farenas, it’s knockout or bust in his IBF superfeatherweight title eliminator against hometowner Jose (Sniper) Pedraza at the Coliseo Pedrin Zorrilla in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Nov. 14. The winner has been assured of a crack at the IBF 130-pound title now held by Cuba’s Rances Barthelemy.

The IBF hasn’t announced who will be the referee and judges for the scheduled 12-round bout but Farenas’ manager Gerry Peñalosa isn’t holding his breath. “The fight is in Puerto Rico where Pedraza is from,” said the two-time world champion. “You’re not sure what will happen if it goes 12 rounds. Of course, you’re worried and it’s a concern. So I keep reminding Michael not to let the judges decide who’ll win. You’ll never know how the hometown crowd can influence the judges. That’s just how it is in boxing.”

Peñalosa said Farenas is going for broke. “I told Michael it’s either Pedraza goes down or he goes down,” he continued. “Michael is definitely going for a knockout. I know he can do it. Michael is bigger, stronger and more experienced. There’s no time to go slow. Michael has to be aggressive from the start. He can’t afford to lose. He’s not getting any younger and I don’t know if after this fight, he’ll get another break. He has to take advantage of this opportunity and treat it like a do-or-die.”

Peñalosa said Pedraza is a slick stylist with average power. “We’ve watched his fights on YouTube,” he went on. “Pedraza likes to hit and run. Michael can’t wait for the opportunity. He has to move in and create it. He’s got to run him over. That’s our Plan A. In some fights, Pedraza has engaged his opponents. Maybe, if he thinks he can take an opponent’s power, he’ll go toe-to-toe. But I’m sure he’ll avoid engaging Michael. So Michael has to be ready to pressure him, push him to the ropes and into the corner, make it a brawl.”

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No question, Peñalosa said Pedraza will try to keep the fight in the middle of the ring so he has room to dance around. “Pedraza is taller, he’s 5-9 and Michael is 5-6 1/2,” said Peñalosa. “Pedraza also has a longer reach so we expect him to jab and fight from a distance. Michael is used to that style. I don’t interfere with the fightplan that my brother Erbing has in mind for Michael but I’m sure the strategy is to pressure from the first bell. That’s how you stop a guy like Pedraza from running.”

Erbing, conditioning coach Jay San Pedro and Manny Pacquiao’s former cutman Lenny de Jesus will be in Farenas’ corner for the fight.

Last Saturday night, Farenas, Erbing and San Pedro left Manila for Los Angeles on a Philippine Airlines flight. They will train at the Wild Card Gym before flying to San Juan on Nov. 9. Peñalosa will fly to Los Angeles on Nov. 8 and join Farenas, Erbing and San Pedro on the flight to San Juan the next day.

Before leaving Manila, Farenas weighed about 142 pounds, 12 over the superfeatherweight limit. “Making weight’s not a problem for Michael,” said Peñalosa. “Losing 12 pounds in one month is something he’s used to doing. When Michael was training at our new gym on Dona Soledad Avenue near SM Bicutan in Parañaque, Jay would come every other day to supervise his conditioning. I think Michael’s on target. At Wild Card, he’ll do hard training. Freddie (Roach) won’t be around as he’s already in General Santos City working with Manny but Marvin (Somodio) will be there to help out. What we like about Wild Card is a lot of good fighters come to train so there’s always good sparring available for Michael. We also like Wild Card because of Manny’s history. A lot of Filipino fighters train at Wild Card so it’s like a second home for Michael.”

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Farenas will rely on his devastating power to bowl over Pedraza and set an appointment with Barthelemy. He has won his last five fights, all by knockout, and two of his victims were Gerardo Zayas who capitulated in one round in Texas and previously unbeaten Mark Davis who was stopped in eight in Connecticut. Farenas has lost only once to Cuba’s Yuriorkis Gamboa in his last 14 fights dating back to four years ago.

The closest Farenas came to bagging a world title was when he battled defending WBA superfeatherweight champion Takashi Uchiyama to a third round technical draw in Saitama in July 2012. Uchiyama was ruled unfit to continue because of a cut over the right eye, inflicted by an accidental headbutt, and since the fight had not gone beyond four rounds, it went down as an automatic technical draw. Five months later, Farenas took on Gamboa for the interim WBA crown and lost on points although the Filipino impressed the Las Vegas crowd with his blood-and-guts style. Farenas floored Gamboa once in the action-packed bout.

Farenas’ record is 39-4-4, with 31 KOs. The 30-year-old Filipino turned pro in 2004, seven years before Pedraza made his debut. Pedraza, 25, boasts an 18-0 record, with 12 KOs. A common opponent is Zayas whom both Farenas and Pedraza knocked out in one round. Pedraza has fought in only one 12-round fight, going the distance in defeating Mexico’s Alberto Garza for the IBO superfeatherweight diadem in Puerto Rico last March. Farenas has fought six 12-round matches in his 10-year career.