BANAL WINS A BRUTAL BATTLE IN SPECTACULAR FASHION
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 18 Jul 2010
While the picturesque province of Bohol is known for its historic blood compact, AJ ?Bazooka? Banal and South Korea?s Big Yoo quickly decided to make a compact of their own and that was to spill blood and engage in a brutal battle in their quest for the WBO Asia Pacific bantamweight title before 30,000 cheering fans at the Carlos P. Garcia Sports Complex in Tagbilaran City Saturday night.
Banal and Big Yoo traded big shots from the opening bell with the visitor who is actually a Japanese named Hayato Kimura and is rated No. 7 by the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation charging out of his corner at the opening bell and surprising Banal with a flurry of punches.
Big Yoo who took his name after his career was managed by a Korean took the opening round in which referee Bruce McTavish cautioned the Filipino southpaw for a low blow.
The fast and furious action continued in round two with Big Yoo catching Banal with some crisp, rapid-fire combinations to the body while the 21 year old Filipino tried to pick his punches. An accidental head butt caused a stoppage as Banal had a cut opened on his scalp and as blood trickled from the wound which required some stitches, Banal hurt Big Yoo with a couple of solid counter-punches as the Korean fighter continued to press the action to the delight of fight fans and the consternation of Banal?s corner-men Edmund and Edito ?Ala? Villamor.
The tide slowly changed in the third round when Banal, rather than stand in front of Big Yoo and go toe-toe switched to using excellent lateral movements and tagging the Korean with a series of stinging right straights and crisp left hooks to the body.
A left hook followed by a cracking uppercut and a series of combinations by Banal soon began to take its toll on Big Yoo.
The frantic pace of a battle in the trenches marked by virtual hand-to-hand combat ended with Banal staggering Big Yoo with a vicious left which at that point, evened the score at two rounds apiece.
The fifth round started off in near disastrous fashion for Banal who was clearly tagged and hurt by a series of lefts and rights from Yoo who was winning the admiration of fight fans for his remarkable resiliency and his work rate. But just when it seemed Banal was in deep trouble, he demonstrated the one quality that some boxing writers, including ourselves, have been looking for ? a courageous, fighting heart.
Hurt as he was, Banal quickly whirled around cracked Big Yoo with a right hook and then nailed him with a devastating, perfectly timed left uppercut that sent Big Yoo staggering across the ring before collapsing on the canvas in his own corner. As Banal moved to a neutral corner and watched, international referee McTavish counted out the gallant Korean who suffered the first stoppage in a career that now reads 16-3 with 11 knockouts.
Banal improved to 22-1-1 with 18 knockouts in a classic ring war that showcased skill, punching power, ring savvy and courage and most definitely set Banal in line for a world title shot. The Filipino is currently ranked No. 4 by the WBO, WBC and IBF and No. 12 by the WBA.
An ecstatic Banal who earlier vowed to redeem himself from his shocking tenth round knockout to Rafael ?El Torito? Concepcion on July 26, 2008 and to win the world title said Big Yoo was strong and durable and hurt him with some of his heavy-handed punches but he was confident that in the end he would prevail as he did, winning by a knockout at 1:59 of the fifth round.
ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer who together with popular sportsman, Mayor Dan Neri Lim and the giant broadcast network ABS-CBN staged the memorable ?SANDUGO ?Labanan ng mga Kampeon? fight card told us that Banal?s next fight is scheduled for October 29 in Dubai.
In another exciting bout while it lasted Philippine lightweight champion Jason Pagara gave himself a birthday gift as he turned 18, scoring a TKO at 2:18 of the second round against Korean light welterweight champion Kim Young Bin.
The much taller Korean started aggressively and using his height and reach to advantage caught Pagara with some good shots but Pagara quickly changed his tactics in round two and started working to the body of the lanky Korea which took the sting out of his punches and hurt him.
A beautiful right straight that capped a three-punch combination by Pagara opened up a nasty cut over the right eyelid of the Korean forcing referee Ben Necessario on the advice of the ring physician to call a halt at 2:18 of the second round.
In the other main supporting bout lanky James Bacon bided his time, out-boxed game Eric Macas before catching him with a ripping body shot at 2:05 of round six when referee Delbert Peregrino counted Macas out.
AJ 'Bazooka' Banal (R) connects with his jab on Big Yoo of South Korean during theri bout Saturday night at the Carlos P. Garcia Sports Complex in Tagbilaran City, Bohol.
The singing of the Philippine national anthem before the start of the Banal-Yoo fight.
Part of the 30,000 mammoth crowd at the Carlos P. Garcia Sports Complex in Tagbilaran City Saturday night headed by Tagbilaran City mayor Dan Neri Lim (front, in orange stripe shirt).
Photos by Dong Secuya.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
Nagoya 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 2025Undercard Inferno: Mbilli and Martinez Deliver a Super Middleweight War Ending in a Thrilling Draw
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Crawford to defy odds?
By Joaquin Henson, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Clash of Titans: The Final Predictions for Canelo Álvarez vs. Terence Crawford
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Weigh-In Results: Naoya Inoue vs. Murodjon Akhmadaliev
Sun, 14 Sep 2025Inoue and Akhmadaliev Make Weight for Sunday's Battle, Watch it LIVE on Facebook!
By Carlos Costa, Sun, 14 Sep 2025IIEE North Cotabato and Metro Central are the Golden Champion on 3x3 Basketball and 3x3 Chess
By Marlon Bernardino, Sun, 14 Sep 2025Sydney Sy Tancontian is Female Awardee of Sports Hero of the Year
By Lito delos Reyes, Sat, 13 Sep 2025Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford: Size Matters
By Chris Carlson, Sat, 13 Sep 2025