Concepcion a driving force for AJ

AJ “Bazooka” Banal faces highly touted Canadian boxer Tyson “The Prince of Hali” Cave in the Pinoy Pride: Battle of Mactan on July 30 at the newly built Hoops Dome in barangay Gun-ob, Lapu-Lapu City.

Banal, who has a 24-1-1 (win-loss-draw) record with 19 wins by knockouts, is looking for a win that will seal a second meeting with Panamian Rafael Concepcion, who dealt him his lone career loss three years ago.

A chance to meet Concepcion anew could just be within Banal’s reach but he has to survive Cave first.

“I’ll do my best against Cave because I badly want a rematch with Concepcion,” said Banal in a press launching yesterday at the Plantation Bay Resort and Spa. “I already reviewed his previous fights. He is a tough fighter. He fights like Muhammad Ali but I’ll be ready for him.”

Banal has collected seven straight wins since losing to Concepcion and that streak will be put on the line against Cave, who is touted by some as the best fighter in his hometown in Halifax, Canada.

Sporting a 15-1-0, 5KOs card, Cave has captured five Canadian titles in four different weight classes.

Cave has just defended his WBC Continental Americas Super Bantamweight crown by defeating Saturnino Nava last June 18.

Cave figured in several street fights before turning professional.

“I love fighting. It’s something I love doing,” Cave told BedfordBeacon.com.

ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer said beating Cave will definitely increase the chances of a Banal-Concepcion rematch.

“AJ really wants to fight Concepcion again. I’ve never seen him talk this seriously against Concepcion. If he does well against Cave, we will have the rematch either late September or early October this year,” said Aldeguer.

Banal said the incident that took place in the Pinoy Pride 6 where stablemate Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista was booed after scoring a technical decision win over Mexican Heriberto Ruiz will have no effects in his scheduled meeting with Cave.

“It will only motivate me to perform better to satisfy the crowd,” said Banal.

Also set to see action in the main undercard at the 8,000-seater venue is Michael Domingo (40-15-5, 18KOs), who will duke it out with Indonesia’s Richard Samosir (18-3-3, 7KOs) of Indonesia.

Lorenzo Villanueva (20-0-0, 19KOs) of North Cotabato will also to keep his unbeaten record intact against Indonesian Eddy Camaro (24-10-4, 9KOs).