BANAL TO FIGHT FOR WBA TITLE (Updated Story)
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 19 May 2008
AJ ?Bazooka? Banal, the hard-hitting protege of the famed ALA Gym of respected boxing patron Tony Aldeguer will fight for the WBA super flyweight title left vacant by Alexander Munoz who dropped a close decision to Christian Mijares over the weekend in Mexico.
In an email, well-known matchmaker Sampson Lewkowicz said that after Mijares, the reigning WBC champion unified the titles after following a close win over Munoz WBA executive secretary Gilberto Mendoza Jr and Championships Committee chairman Oliver Gomez ?declared Mijares a ?super champion? thus creating a vacancy in this division and hence the opportunity for Banal.?
Lewkowicz informed youthful Michael Aldeguer who has assumed the mantle of his father in the boxing business that Banal will fight Panama?s Rafael ?El Torito? Concepcion for the vacant crown.
Lewkowicz said that from the first day he saw Banal in action he was confident he would become ?the youngest champion ever from the Philippines.?
Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao who was born on December 17, 1978 won the WBC flyweight title from Thai hero Chatchai Sasakul on December 4, 1998 some two weeks before his 20th birthday. Banal who was born on December 28, 1988 is likely to get his crack at the WBA title sometime in July which, if he wins, would make him one of the youngest world champion from the Philippines.
The youngest Filipino to win a world title was Morris East who was crowned WBA light welterweight champion on September 9, 1992 when he was 19 years, 1 month and 1 day old. East won the title against Japan?s Akinobu Hiranaka. Super featherweight Ben Villaflor won the WBA world title on September 25, 1972 when he was just over 19 years and some 10 months old defeating Alfredo Marcano by unanimous decision.
Concepcion is a 25 year old southpaw with a record of 10-2-1 with 6 knockouts according to boxrec.com and is rated No. 6 by the WBA while Banal is ranked No. 3.
In his last fight on March 27, Concepcion scored a third round TKO over Jean
Piero Perez Banal on the other hand scored an impressive fourth round TKO win over previously undefeated WBC No.2 Caril Herrera of Uruguay at the Araneta Coliseum last April 6. In his email to the young Aldeguer, Lewkowicz said thank your respectable father, you and the entire ALA boxing family for allowing me to guide AJ Banal and bring great pride to the people of the Philippines.?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
Smarts over power
By Joaquin Henson, Tue, 16 Sep 2025HALL OF FAME FLIES FLAGS AT HALF-STAFF FOR TWO-DIVISION CHAMPION RICKY HATTON
Tue, 16 Sep 2025Kazakhstan tops the medal table at the inaugural World Boxing Championships 2025 thanks to victory in the final bout of the competition
Tue, 16 Sep 2025THRILLA IN MANILA GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 13: JOE FRAZIER’S HUMBLE BEGINNINGS AS AN AMATEUR FIGHTER
By Maloney L. Samaco, Mon, 15 Sep 2025A New King, A New Challenger: Turki Alalshikh Proposes Crawford-Benavidez While Canelo Alvarez Faces Defeat with Humility
By Dong Secuya, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Highly Questionable Title Eliminator
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Yoseline Perez Earns Silver Medal at Inaugural World Boxing Championships
Mon, 15 Sep 202521-year-old Filipino wins at Germany rapid chess tournament
By Marlon Bernardino, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Nagoya Nightmare: Naoya Inoue Notches One-Sided Decision over Murodjon Akhmadaliev
Mon, 15 Sep 2025Inoue’s Philippine Connection: Which Pinoy Super Bantamweight Could Challenge “The Monster?”
By Carlos Costa, Mon, 15 Sep 2025Yoseline Perez Advances to the Finals at the World Boxing Championships Perez Set to Face Chinese Taipei’s Hsiao-Wen Huang for 54-Kilogram World Title
Mon, 15 Sep 2025Canelo Gets Outboxed, Loses Undisputed Title to Crawford
By Carlos Costa, Sun, 14 Sep 2025A Masterpiece of Boxing: Terence Crawford Dethrones Canelo Alvarez in Historic Showdown
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025LEWIS CROCKER IS CROWNED THE NEW IBF WORLD WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION
Sun, 14 Sep 2025Battle of Undefeated: Callum Walsh Vanquishes Fernando Vargas Jr.
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025