Former flyweight titleholder Eric Morel earned a bantamweight title shot with a 12-round split decision over former 115- and 118-pound beltholder Gerry Penalosa on the Pinoy Power/Latin Fury pay-per-view undercard from Las Vegas, Nev. on Saturday.

Most observers believed that Penalosa (54-8-2, 36 KOs), who fought through badly swollen and lacerated eyes, deserved the decision. The 37-year-old Filipino vet was the aggressor throughout the bout, backing Morel up while consistently punishing the 34-year-old Puerto Rican vet's body.

However, Morel (42-2, 21 KOs), who boxed well in spots but was soundly outworked, won by scores of 116-112 and 115-113. One judge scored the bout 115-113 for Penalosa.

Morel, who won his seventh consecutive bout, is now the mandatory challenger for 118-pound beltholder Fernando Montiel (40-2-2, 30 KOs), who easily dispatched Ciso Morales (14-1, 8 KOs) in the first round of the co-featured bout of Saturday's pay-per-view show.