PINOY PRIDE XVII: BANAL AND PUNGLUANG MAKE WEIGHT
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 19 Oct 2012
PASAY CITY - AJ ?Bazooka? Banal (28-1-1, 20 KO's) of the ALA Gym and Pungluang Sor Singyu (42-1, 27 KO's) of Thailand made the division limit for their Saturday night battle for the vacant WBO bantamweight world title. Banal easily made 118 lbs in his first attempt but Sor Singyu had to shed an extra pound for around an hour before returning to the scales.
The protagonists shook hands and posed for the cameras one last time before their scheduled twelve round match at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. The now retired Z Gorres was one of the spectators during the weigh-in and told this writer that he predicts a knockout win for Banal.
Rey ?BoomBoom? Bautista (33-2, 25 KO's) made the featherweight limit of 126 pounds but Daniel Ruiz (27-5-2, 19 KO's) of Mexico was three pounds overweight and could not lose the extra pounds even after going to the sauna.
The vacant WBO International featherweight title will be awarded to Bautista if he wins on Saturday but the title will be vacant if Ruiz emerges the victor. Ruiz will also be penalized by having to wear heavier gloves on fight night.
Jason ?El Ni?o? Pagara (29-2, 18 KO's) will defend his WBO International jr.welterweight title against unbeaten Miguel ?Hands of Stone? Antoine (17-0-1, 9 KO's) of Barbados. Both boxers made 140 lbs on their first try.
Michael ?Bruce Lee? Domingo (44-16-2, 23 KO's) weighed the contracted weight of 120 lbs while his opponent Mudde Ntambe Rabison (19-2-1,7 KO's) of Uganda stepped in at 118 lbs for their non-title bout. Rabison playfully made a slit gesture on his neck when he posed with Domingo, who gave him a hard stare when they posed for photos. Rabison posed for photos with the fans and told philboxing that he is in excellent shape and predicts a win.
Marlon ?The Nightmare? Tapales, a former Philippine jr.flyweight champion, will fight Rasmanudin (15-2-2, 8 KO's) of Indonesia in another non-title match. Both stepped in at 118 lbs. Tapales said he is excited to show the fans what he can do in his first big fight card.
Juan Martin Elorde, the grandson of the great Flash Elorde, weighed 129 lbs while his opponent Gerry Sismundo stepped in at 131 lbs. Rounding up the undercards are Randy Bullong (117 lbs) vs Kazuma Ejiri (118 lbs) of Japan and Robert Agcopra (131 lbs) vs Val Falcunaya (130 lbs).
The weigh-in was held Friday noon at the Mall of Asia.Also attending the event were WBO light flyweight world champion Donnie Nietes and WBO International flyweight champion Milan Melindo. The undercards on October 20 start at 6PM.
Banal (L) and PUngluang (R) pose with Referee Tony Weeks during Friday's weighin at the Mall of Asia in Manila.
Rey Bautista (L) and Daniel Ruiz.
Jason Pagara and Miguel Antoine.
Domingo and Rabison.
Tapales and Rasmanudin.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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