PINOY PRIDE XIII - TEAM MEXICO ARRIVES IN CEBU
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 22 Mar 2012
Cebu City ? Raul Hidalgo (15W-5L, 11 KO?s) of Mexico was honest enough to say that he was tired and lacked sleep. But he vowed to give AJ ?Bazooka? Banal (26W-1L-1D, 17 KO?s) a good fight.
?I have trained for six weeks. I sparred with good boxers at our gym. I would also travel to other gyms in nearby towns to look for sparring partners. I don?t want to make predictions, he (Banal )is strong, but I am also strong.?
Hidalgo also said that his moniker ?El Bule? comes from the English word ?bully? and attributed it to his father. ?He is a good man but he likes to fight a lot, fight bullies in the street.?
Banal, from Ermita, Cebu City, will defend his WBO Asia-Pacific bantamweight title against Hidalgo this Saturday March 24 at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel.
ALA Promotions Pres. and CEO Michael Aldeguer said that Hidalgo is the type of boxer that Banal needs to prepare for a world title shot. ?Mexican boxers come to fight. You can never underestimate them.? Aldeguer said, ?We are waiting if Jorge Arce does move up in weight and challenge Donaire, then we can start negotiations for the vacant title. It would be also good if AJ gets to fight Arce. It?s a golden opportunity to fight a legend.?
Banal was one of the five professional boxers who received commendations during the 30th Sportswriters Association of Cebu (SAC) Awards last March 3.
?I know I can take Arce if the opportunity comes,? Banal said, ?I am confident with our training regimen.?
Trainer Edmund Villamor added that Banal has improved tremendously not just with his skills but in his conditioning level.
The undercards will feature OPBF Flyweight champion Rocky ?Road Warrior? Fuentes (32W-6L-2D, 19 KO?s) of Cebu against Javier Franco (19W-6L-1D, 10 KO?s) of Mexico ,Arthur ?El Matador? Villanueva (17W-0L, 12 KO?s) of Bacolod City versus Rey Migreno (15W-18L-3D, 13 KO?s) of Benguet and ?Prince? Albert Pagara (10W-0L, 8 KO?s) of Maasin City will face his second foreign opponent in Thailand?s Phupha Por Nobnum (10W-7L-1D, 9 KO?s).
Pagara has started to make waves in his two year career. Last year, he beat Tanzania?s Shabani Madilu by unanimous decision in Bacolod City. Villanueva will finally make his ring return after suffering a hand injury last October. He was the one who was supposed to fight Madilu and Pagara substituted for him.
AJ Banal (L) and Raul Hidalgo face off during Thursday's presscon at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu City.
Banal and Hidalgo pose with ALA President Michael Aldeguer and Hidalgo's trainer Franco Ivan Herrera (R)
Rocky Fuentes (L) and Javier Franco pose during Thursday's presscon.
Rey Migreno (L) and Arthur Vilanueva.
Fuentes, who also received a citation last March from Cebu sportswriters, is ranked by the four major sanctioning bodies and will face a Mexican boxer for the first time. Fuentes built his ?road warrior? reputation in Japan by beating world ranked Japanese boxers. Fuentes said that he will not be overconfident and he will study Franco?s style in the opening round. Franco stated that he also had six weeks of training with two different trainers. He has also studied Fuentes? fights on the internet.
Pagara?s Thai opponent is due to arrive in Cebu Thursday afternoon. Migreno and Villanueva also vowed to give a good fight and look for a knockout finish.
Also penned to fight on the undercards are Roma Rate vs Jade Yagahon (8 rounds), Arjan Canillas vs Ranie Pamatian (6 rounds), Crispin Parba vs Rowell Condolon (4 rounds) and the Clown Prince of Cebu boxing, Jun ?Flash? Intor, who will bring his comedy act against Alejandro Marapao (4 rounds).
The press conference was held Thursday noon at the Aegean Room of the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel. The weigh-in will be held Friday noon at SM Cebu.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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