Z, BANAL, MELLIGUEN LOOK SHARP IN PUBLIC SPARRING
By Salven L. Lagumbay
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 12 Oct 2006
WBO no. 1 superfly Z "The Dream' Gorres and young phenom AJ 'Bazooka' Banal looked great at a public sparring session held last Tuesday inside the swanky Fight Club, even as Mark Jason Melliguen proved true to his billing as the next big thing in Philippine boxing.
Gorres looked terrific sparring against superbantamweight Weng Haya, Banal and Sherwin Paro, as he plans to dish out some kind of punishment on Indonesian Sonny Manakane in the mainer of the 'War in the Ring' card on October 21 in Mandaue City.
ALA Boys Z Gorres (right) and AJ Banal spars at the FightClub Gym in Banilad, Cebu City. Photo by Dong Secuya.
Banal also looked impressive against Gorres, Haya and Paro, as he trains his sights on putting up a rude welcome on Indonesian Angky Angkota also on October 21.
Melliguen, for his part, made passers-by stop with his power as he worked on the mitts with Freddie Roach-protege Edito 'Ala' Villamor.
Hot welter prospect Mark Jason Melliguen (right) spars with stablemate Glenn Masicampo. Photo by Dong Secuya.
Gorres and Banal, if their visa applications get approved, are set to depart for the United States on October 25 with Rey 'Boom Boom' Bautista and Villamor to further hone their skills under Roach at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, the Bacolod City-raised Melliguen is set to move down into the junior welterweight ranks, as he sets to conquer the 140-lb division, said his manager Antonio L. Aldeguer.
"He's really natural junior welter, that's his perfect weight class," informed Aldeguer during the public sparring session.
"That's a very lucrative weight class in the United States, but also very deep and competitive," added promoter Sammy Gello-ani, who plans on making Melliguen his next superstar.
However, the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) is expected to contribute to Melliguen's career potential by returning to the fighter his passport, which until now has remained unreturned by ABAP's training staff.
"It's a violation of his right for them not to return his passport. They could be sued for that," said a top-notch lawyer from Cebu who was watching Melliguen spar with Glen Masicampo.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Salven L. Lagumbay.
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