After the Manny Pacquiao vs. David Diaz fight, some people thought they have to wait up until November to see another exciting slugging in the ring. Manny Pacquiao may be the greatest Filipino boxer of all time but people should not forget that we have other great fighters that might in the near future equal or even supersede what Manny Pacquiao has achieved. One of those fighters is no other than the AJ Banal whose real name is Alex John Banal.
Just 4 more days more to go for the much awaited AJ “Bazooka” Banal vs. Rafael “Little Bull” Concepcion fight in a fight dubbed as “Laban na Banal – Panahon Na.” (English translation: The Holy/ Sacred fight – It’s about time) The 19-year-old AJ Banal aims to be the third youngest Filipino to win a world crown. He is currently WBA’s No. 3 titlist. AJ Banal is fighting with Panamanian Rafael Concepcion for the vacant super flyweight crown in the main card.
Check out this promotional video from ABS-CBN sports about the fight ! Boy I wish I had those boxer six packs ! Perhaps I should consider boxing as a sport. But if I could not loose wait through boxing I might loose some weight with some Ephedrasil Hardcore hehehee 🙂
The fight is promoted by ALA Promotions and will be held on July 26, 2008, 5:00 p.m. at the Cebu Coliseum. It will feature not only AJ Banal but will also feature other potential great boxers who will fight in the undercard such as Milan “Milenyo” Melindo who will face off with Panamanian warrior, Carlos “Shanghai” Melo for the vacant WBA Inter-Continental minimum weight belt . Michael “Bruce Lee” Domingo will trade fists with Indonesian Boxing Association No. 2 contender Rivo Rengkung for the vacant World Boxing Organization Oriental bantamweight title.
So who are you betting for AJ Banal or Rafael Concepcion ? Even if I don’t bet, I’m putting my money on AJ Banal, not only because he is a Filipino but because he is a Cebuano as well. He has an impressive 17-0-1 record with 14 knockouts. AJ Banal is one of those fighters that has a winner’s attitude. I also like his fighting style and I believe that AJ Banal is a Manny Pacquiao in the making. Go AJ BANAL !!!
Update: Aftermath of the Laban na banal –
AJ Banal vs Rafael Concepcion – Winner – Rafael Concepcion via KO 10th round. 🙁
Milan Melindo vs Carlos Melo – Winner – Milan Melindo via UD
Michael Domingo vs Rekung – Winner – Michael Domingo via KO second round
Almost every Filipino was so dissapoined that AJ Banal lost the fight. Some people even said that it was a very “Unholy.” This is obviously a very ironical comment since the fight was dubbed as Laban na banal (Holy fight) Banal was expected to win considering his record and considering that he is way ahead in the score cards. He should have held until the 12th round. But not to worry, AJ Banal is still a young boxer and he has a long way to go. What does not kill him, will make him strong.
Here is Round 9 and the ill-fated Round 10:
Hi ! my name is Zigfred Diaz. Thanks for visiting my personal blog ! Never miss a post from this blog. Subscribe to my full feeds for free. Click here to subscribe to zdiaz.com by Email
You may also want to visit my other blogs. Click here to learn more about great travel ideas.
Its not a holy day after Banal was knockout in the tenth round… The hype of this fight not really paid off… Banal have to lots more to learn and is not really yet to be considered as super star of boxing