BANAL WANTS TO BLAST CONCEPCION
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 26 Jul 2008
AJ ?Bazooka? Banal was once again provoked by Rafael ?El Torito? Concepcion at the official weigh-in on the eve of their showdown for the WBA super flyweight interim championship at the Cebu Coliseum on Saturday.
It happened after Concepcion and his handlers spent an anxious 90 minutes while Concepcion walked around the sprawling complex of SM Cebu City in an effort to shed off one pound after the Panamanian failed to make the 115 pound limit on his first couple of attempts on the scale even as Banal was right on target.
Carlos Melo, another Panamanian who takes on talented Milan Melindo in a WBA Intercontinental light flyweight title fight was also overweight despite stripping completely, to the amusement of male fans and giggles and embarrassed looks from the ladies watching the proceedings from the upper floors of the mall. He too jogged around the complex and eventually made the 108 pound limit.
Banal, Melindo and Philippine bantamweight champion Michael Domingo, all fighters from the ALA Gym, made the weight without any problem which was a tribute to the manner in which head trainer Edito ?Ala? Villamor and Edmund Villamor monitor the progress of the boxers under them.
The undefeated southpaw Banal (17-0-1, 14 KO?s) was provoked by Concepcion who is nicknamed ?The Little Bull? when the two fighters posed for photographers. Concepcion planted his fist firmly on Banal?s jaw and began muttering about how great Panamanian fighters are, drawing an immediate retort from Banal about the greatness of the Philippines and its fighters.
Banal said later there was no way a ?Little Bull? could withstand the force of a ?Bazooka? and promised to blast him to smithereens in their eagerly-awaited championship bout which has attracted a number of boxing personalities including former two-division world champion Luisito Espinosa, Australia?s TV boxing show host and former ?Promoter of the Year? Peter Maniatis and young, boxing- crazy Panamanian Carlos Costa who told the crowd that when Manny Pacquiao fought David Diaz, Panamanians like Filipinos, stopped everything to watch the fight. Costa said Pacquiao was a hero in Panama and likened to the great Roberto ?Hands of Stone? Duran.
Once he made the weight to the applause of hundreds of onlookers who stayed around for hours to watch the proceedings and doctors pronounced Concepcion ?in good shape? with his blood pressure at 90/60, the hard-hitting Panamanian regained his confidence.
?I want to win to take the crown back to Panama for my little baby girl (Allison) and my family. My daughter is my inspiration,? said Concepcion who revealed he had watched tapes of Banal ? many times.?
He described Banal as ?a great fighter. He is strong and fit but Rafael Concepcion is the greatest boxer here. I am strong, I?m ready. And I am ready to fight him right here, right now.? But the tough talk happened long after Banal had left the venue. Concepcion said he ?won?t worry about the round in which I may knock him out. I only think of the victory.?
While waiting for Concepcion and Melo to shed off extra weight international matchmaker Sampson Lewkowicz received an overseas telephone call from influential Japanese businessman-sportsman Akihiko Honda who congratulated both boxers and wished them all the best.
Honda also committed to have the winner of the interim championship, battle the winner of the September 15 championship bout between the two top contenders Nobuo Nashiro and Kohei Kono before the WBA deadline of December 15. Honda informed us that the fight would be held in Las Vegas with a strong possibility that it would on the undercard of the planned December 6 clash between Oscar De La Hoya and Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao.
Damon De Berry of Optimum Sports Agency which handles Concepcion claimed they were misled when Concepcion checked his weight on the hotel scale where he weighed 115 pounds. But once his fighter made the weight the likeable De Berry said ?we have no problems. We are ready.?
There were some tense moments during the weigh-in of the protagonists in the two WBA title fights and it really flared up when Domingo was confronted by Indonesian toughie Rivo Ringkung. Domingo shoved the Indon fighter who pointed a finger at him and promised to settle the score in the ring.
Fight fans who learned that Pacquiao had postponed his trip to Las Vegas for Tuesday so he could attend the State Of The Nation Address of his staunchest supporter President Arroyo were hoping that he would show up in Cebu for the fights. The Panamanians, including Concepcion, Melo, trainers Hector Roca, Pedro Romero and the trainer of Melo whose surname is Arroyo unanimously agreed that Pacquiao was the best fighter in the world today and the most exciting.
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmena who celebrates his 60th birthday today won?t be able to attend the fight which is being supported by the city government but arrangements have been made for a ?live? feed of the ABS-CBN coverage to the venue where he will celebrate his birthday with some 2,000 barangay officials, relatives and friends.
The fights will be telecast ?live? by the giant broadcast network ABS-CBN over Studio 23 beginning at 7:00 p.m. with a replay over the pre-eminent Channel 2 on Sunday morning.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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