ALA Boy Banal bulldozes Pader in four

TAGBILARAN CITY - Another star from Cebu's famed ALA boxing constellation is on the rise.

Super flyweight prospect AJ Banal proved this as he relentlessly punished RP No.10 jr bantamweight contender Jun Pader on the way to a methodical fourth round TKO victory in the other night's "Rambol sa Island City Mall" card here at the ICM carpark.

The Corella, Bohol-native Banal pressed the attack button right after the opening bell, obviously targeting for an early knockout, but Pader gamely stood on his feet in the face of his opponent's heavy bombardments.

Banal kept clobbering Pader with a variation of telling blows to the head and body until in the fourth round where he sneaked in a powerful combination that downed the Mindanao brawler on both knees.

A dizzy Pader stood up, but wobbled into the ropes, prompting referee Teddy Alivio to step in and halt the bout at 2:56 of the fourth round.

"I want to knock him out right away, but he's just too strong. He's also skillful though he did not hurt me at all," said Banal, who stretched his unbeaten record to 7-0 including one draw and six wins via stoppage.

"This is the fight time I'm fighting in a main event and I'm happy I was able to put up a good show," added Banal.

There will be practically no rest for Banal as he is booked to show his stuff anew in the Sandugo boxing festival against a still undisclosed opponent on July 22 still in Tagbilaran.

In the undercard of the slambang show presented by SGG Sports Promotions of international promoter Sammy Gello-ani in partnership with Island City Mall and the city government of Tagbilaran led by Mayor Dan Neri Lim, Milan Melindo hammered an eight-round shutout of Kidapawan's Michael Rodriguez.

The scores were 78-76, 79-73, 78-74 as Melindo notched his fifth straight win in as many fights as a pro.

Before that, Nic Banal of AEV Stable was not in his best, but still wade through a unanimous decision triumph over Max Orcajada. The scores were 39-38, 40-36, and 39-37.

The Tagbilaran-based Mark Jason Melliguen pulled off the shortest bout of the night as he needed just 53 seconds to dispose off the overmatched William Jorge of Kidapawan's Gemmel Contayoso Stable.

On the other hand, five debutants in the pro ranks - Weng Haya, Gil Melliguen, Marjo Borres, Ricky Sismundo and Leon Moratas - all crushed their respective foes from Butuan's Bernard Yu Stable.

Haya landed a right hook and then followed up with a killer left uppercut to floor Tata Fernandez at 2:24 of the third round, Melliguen beat Jun Morano by unanimous decision, while Borres won also by unanimous verdict over Warren Libres.

Sismundo and Maratas, Bohol's homegrown talents, also came out smoking the victory pipe. Morates pounded out a unanimous decision win over Markyll Taroja, while Morares opened up the nine-bout spectacle with a first round TKO of Kenjie de la Cruz at 2:11 mark.

The event is part of Tagbilaran's 40th Charter Day celebration that also kicked off the month-long Sandugo festival, Bohol's grandest and most colorful extravaganza.