Banal on a mission

ALTHOUGH AJ Banal’s foe—Victor Proa—is off from a first-round knockout loss, the ALA Gym standout isn’t taking his chances and has been training his heart out at the famed Wild Card Gym in California.

Proa, who is scheduled to face Banal on Aug. 29 in Hawaii, suffered his first defeat at the hands of Raul Martinez. He was knocked out in the first round in their bout last Nov. 14 in the US.

ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer, who guides the 20-year-old Banal’s career, isn’t taking Proa lightly as he believes he might come back strong after his first defeat.

“We are very concerned about this fight because some fighters come back strong after a loss. Maybe he will be coming back with a vengeance. AJ has everything to lose in this fight. I hope he gives a good fight,” Aldeguer told Sun.Star in an interview.

Aldeguer thinks that this is one of the tests that will determine if Banal is ready to be back in the limelight, vying for his second world title.

“AJ will be facing a lot of tests before moving forward to fight for a world championship,” he said. “AJ knows what he has to do. This will be a very important fight for him,” he added.

Banal lost in his first world title fight. He was stopped by Rafael Concepcion in their World Boxing Association super flyweight crown last year at the Cebu Coliseum.

However, Banal is back to his winning ways and knocked out his last two foes, Indonesian Nouldy Manakane in the fourth round and former International Boxing Organization super flyweight titleholder Mbwana Matumla in the second round.

Banal has been training under Freddie Roach at the Wild Card Gym for close to four months.

“He’s been improving a lot since the last time he was there, Freddie has been guiding him and giving him tips that helped him a lot and this is what we want for AJ.”

Banal has 19-1-1 with 16 KOs, while Proa is 26-1-2 with 19 KOs.