Bazooka blasts foe, retains crown

MANILA, Philippines - AJ “Bazooka” Banal faced an opponent armed with a bagful of dirty tricks, and the Filipino fighter went on to keep his World Boxing Organization Asia Pacific bantamweight crown in Lapu-Lapu City the other night.

The crowd booed wildly as the fight went on because they felt Tyson Cave, the trash-talking Canadian, fought a dirty fight. One of his cornermen even threw his glove to the crowd after Banal was declared winner via technical decision.

Cave, who said he came here to make Banal cry, disappointed the crowd that came to watch the fight. He tried to wrestle Banal to the floor a couple of times, and did a lot of clinching and pushing until the fight was stopped.

A clash of heads in the fifth round opened a big cut above Banal’s right eye, and referee Tony Pesons, had to check on it. When the bleeding got worse in the eighth round, ring physician Jose Unabia called a halt to the fight.

Banal, chasing a shot at the world title, led on all scorecards, 79-73, 78-74 and 78-74, when the fight was stopped.

“I came to fight. I wanted to fight. I wanted to knock him out. But he had other things in mind,” said Banal, who also sounded dejected with the way it turned out.

It was the eighth straight win for the 22-year-old Banal who improved to 25-1-1 while the 29-year-old Cave, who was certainly no Tyson as his name suggests, dropped to 15-2.

Cave even felt he was robbed of the victory.

“I split him open, I hit him harder, I hit him more times. He hit me twice. I just don’t understand how they can do this. They promised us this wasn’t going to happen. This was going to be a fair fight. And this isn’t fair,” he told the Chronicle Herald.

“There is nothing fair about this. This s-t has got to stop in boxing. I came all over the way over here. I promoted this fight. I could have got a world title shot if I won this. They stole this from me. But I love the country, I love the people and I would love to come back here and fight.”

His father, Robert Cave, said it was a punch, and not a headbutt that opened the cut on Banal’s right eye.

“And they gave him the decision. I can’t believe it. It was no head butt, it was a punch. They aren’t going to let that boy get beat, that’s what it is. This guy was sucking wind. He couldn’t handle Tyson’s speed, his punches.”

Dennis Canete, vice president of ALA Promotions, can only laugh.

“How can they say that? Tyson was the one who didn’t fight. He made a comedy out of the fight. Walang kuwenta,” he said.