BANAL BETTER BE READY FOR WAR
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 31 Mar 2008
AJ ?Bazooka? Banal better he ready with his full arsenal of weapons when he battles WBC No. 2 ranked super flyweight Caril Herrera of Uruguay in an eliminator for the No.1 ranking at the Araneta Coliseum, the ?Mecca? of Philippine sports and entertainment on April 6.
Popular Gerry Penalosa headlines the fight card in the first defense of his WBO bantamweight title which also includes Rey ?Boom Boom? Bautista who clashes with Mexico?s Camargo, Philippine bantamweight champion Michael Domingo and emerging prospect and WBO Oriental champion Ciso ?Kid Terrible? Morales.
Giant Philippine broadcast network ABS-CBN which has stamped its class in staging and covering big fights in recent years is working closely with the renowned Golden Boy Promotions and the famed ALA Gym of respected boxing patron Tony Aldeguer in presenting the fight card which should be a cracker.
Banal, regarded as among the brightest prospects amongst the growing number of young Filipino boxers eager to emulate the incredible achievements of Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao, dropped tough Jun ?Flash? Mongo in his final, four-round sparring session last Saturday and looked sharp and ready when Viva Sports/Manila Standard visited the ALA Gym last week.
However, most fight observers believe Banal better be ready to face Herrera, the reigning WBC Latino champion who is also a southpaw and has an all-action swarming style and is eager to earn a crack at the world title by winning the eliminator handsomely.
Herrera is undefeated just like Banal and sports a record of 21-0 with 13 knockouts. In his last fight Herrera, a 5?1? southpaw scored a spectacular KO at 1:50 of the first round against Nelson Daniel Monte, a super bantamweight from Argentina with a respectable record of 13-4-3, 7 KO?s.
Nicknamed ?El Raton? and ?El Campeon del Pueblo?, the 27 year old Herrera won every round in scoring a ten round unanimous decision over Brazil?s 37 year old Wellington Vicente (16-11, 9 KO?s) last July 21 following a six round shutout against Mexico?s Mario Oscar Narvaes whom he dropped in the second round last January 27. Herrera earlier scored a fifth round knockout over Erik Lopez who once fought WBC super flyweight champion Masamori Tokuyama but retired in the sixth round. Tokuyama beat Penalosa twice although the decisions were close and questionable.
The 19 year old Banal who is eight years younger than Herrera has an unblemished record of 16-0-1 with 13 knockouts and has scored a string of impressive victories and in his last fight on December 2 scored a ninth round TKO over Mexico?s Jovanny Soto (25-7-1, 20 KO?s).
Cebu boxing patron Tony Aldeguer and his son Michael who has assumed the mantle of his father in handling boxing operations both agreed that Banal will have to be at his best because Herrera is an aggressive fighter who likes to engage his opponents in a slugfest..
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