Banal vows to chase foe

FACED with an opponent who is known for his elusiveness, WBO Asia Pacific Bantamweight champion AJ “Bazooka” Banal said he will chase and try to trap Canadian Tyson “The Prince” Cave when they tangle in the main event of the Pinoy Pride 7: Battle at Mactan card on July 30 at the spanking Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City.

Cave (15W, 1L, 5 KOs) is a well known imitator of boxing legend Muhammad Ali because of the way he evades his opponents’ attacks. But Banal is unperturbed.

“I will chase him wherever he goes inside the ring,” Banal said after his public sparring session yesterday at Mactan’s newest sports facility.

The Ermita native said he has trained rigidly for a month now under the supervision of veteran trainer Edmund Villamor at the ALA Gym in Barangay Talamban.

Villamor, who also trains Boholano IBF International Featherweight ruler Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista said they are focussing more on Banal’s vaunted power and setting up a fight plan to offset Cave, whom he said, is not the type who will fight toe-to-toe.

Banal sparred with Mark Acub for two rounds at the Hoops Dome yesterday afternoon. The newly built, 8,000-seater sports facility was officially launched yesterday with a grand concert featuring pound-for-pound king and Saranggani Rep. Manny Pacquiao.

Banal said he is gunning for no less than an emphatic win to gain a rematch with Rafael Concepcion who inflicted his first loss as a pro in 2008 here in Cebu.

Meanwhile, ALA Boxing Promotions president Michael Aldeguer expressed confidence that they can fill up the Hoops Dome on July 30 due to the tremendous support given by the local government of Lapu-Lapu City and the huge interest of boxing fans.

Those who sparred with Banal yesterday were the comebacking Michael Domingo (40-15-5, 18 KOs) who will fight Indonesian Richard Samosir (18-3-3, 7 KOs) and WBO Oriental Featherweight champion Lorenzo Villanueva who will meet another Indonesian Eddy Camaro (24-10-4, 9 KOs).