Banal's big breakthrough

CEBU CITY – The “Tuloy ang Pagsubok” fight card at the Cebu City Coliseum here proved to be a great night of victory for ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN Sports. The fights carried so much action and a lot of stoppages that two swing bouts were recorded and a replay of the main event itself was accommodated in the broadcast.

The star of the show was, of course, AJ Banal. “Bazooka” wanted to exorcise ghosts of his lone defeat, which also happened in this selfsame venue last year. Banal, then 19, was thrust into a title eliminator for the interim IBA world superflyweight title. From what this writer has gathered, Banal was being primed for a world title shot around 2010, but the title became vacant, and he had already been one of the top contenders in at least three different world bodies. The winner between him and Panamanian Rafael Concepcion, a real tough cookie, would face the winner of another eliminator between two Japanese, which would have been relatively easier.

However, as fate would have it, Banal seemingly overtrained for the bout, hovering around the target weight limit a couple of weeks before the fight in July of 2008. To be fair, he thoroughly dominated the match, but Concepcion would not go down. Banal jabbed, threw combinations, befuddled the visitor, but could not put him away. It would have been a masterful demolition, if he could only finish Concepcion off. Gradually, though, Bazooka began to tire. After the eighth round, he looked dazed, unable to command himself to continue the assault. The relentless Concepcion took advantage of the situation, and Banal was practically helpless. Concepcion won by knockout in the tenth round.

Banal had supposedly depleted himself so much, he had put his health at serious risk. But more painful was that he had blown a won fight in front of the hometown fans, who can be very unforgiving.

“I was always looking for the knockout, because I got used to it,” said Banal, who has registered 19 knockouts in 19 wins.”I had to learn to be patient. I really wanted to come back.”

So the hard work began. Overcoming his embarrassment, Banal and the ALA team studied what went wrong, and tried to build on his latent skills. Already an excellent technical fighter, he got bigger and stronger, and worked incessantly on his jab with WBO Oriental bantamweight champion and stablemate Z Gorres.

The Dream gave him pointers on the patience he would need if he was going to fight world-class opponents, and be forced to adapt to fighters who would constantly pressure him and test his endurance.

The new and improved Banal tested his new mettle against Indonesian contender Nouldy Manakane, and promptly knocked him out inside four rounds. Manakane had 17 wins and eight losses at the time.

In Mbwana Matumla, Banal faced a quality fighter who had only lost to high-class boxers. Matumla lost to Pramuansak Posuwan by unanimous decision fighting for the WBO Asia-Pacific super flyweight title, and to the likes of rugged Silence Mabuza in their IBO bantamweight title bout. So the “Golden Boy of Africa” was no slouch.

Banal had to win, emphatically, to restore his faith in himself, and his hometown crowd’s faith in him.

Matumla never got started. In the first round, Banal pressed him, using the jab consistently. Matumla tried to use his reach and height advantage, but Banal was the more forceful of the two. Near the end of the second round, Banal caught him with a vicious left hook, and as he toppled, added an overhand right for good measure. The fight ended with a second left in the round.

“He hits hard, also, but I saw the opening,” Banal said after the bout. “I wasn’t looking for a knockout, but it came.”

Banal’s reward? A slot on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Juan Manuel Marquez duel in July. The next big step in this chastened young pug’s career. And hopefully, there will be no more painful lessons or mistakes in the big spotlight.

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