AJ ?Bazooka? Banal was extremely exhausted that he had to be rushed to a hospital after his shocking knockout loss to Panamian Rafael ?El Torito? Concepcion in their match for the interim WBA super flyweight championship on Saturday night at the jampacked Cebu Coliseum.
?Banal almost fainted at the locker room after the fight that?s why we decided to bring him to Cebu Doctors? Hospital. The doctor told us that Banal was very exhausted. He has to stay in the hospital maybe for at least two days,? said ALA Promotions president Michael P. Aldeguer.
For now, Aldeguer said they will let Banal take the much needed rest, while they figure out what?s really the main cause of the downfall of their prized ward that left the Cebuano ring fans in state of shock.
?We will look into what really happened,? said Aldeguer. But we also have to consider that Banal only had three opponents that lasted the full distance. What we?re going to do next is to look for strategy to help him sustain 12 rounds bouts in the future.?
During the fight, the 19-year-old Banal appeared to be in top form as he wobbled Concepcion several times with powerful left-right combinations.
However, starting in round eight, Banal showed signs of slowing down and was apparently weakened by Concepcion?s relentless body attacks. The visiting Panamian finally caught Banal with a big right hand to the face that sent the local boy down on both knees at 2:35 of round 10.
Banal, looking dazed and groggy, shook his head as referee Raul Caiz, Jr. reached the count of 10. It was Banal?s first taste of defeat in 19 fights.
Banal is the third undefeated ALA ring gladiator who lost by stoppage while fighting for a world title. Edito Villamor, Banal?s trainer, was 24-0 before losing by seventh round TKO to to Thai Ratanapol Sor Vorapin in their IBF minimumweight title bout on June 27, 1993 at the National Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Rey ?Boom Boom? Bautista sported a clean 23-0 slate before absorbing a devastating first round KO loss to WBO super bantamweight champion Daniel Ponce de Leon during the Boxing World Cup on August 2 last year at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, California.
Meanwhile, ALA Promotions revealed its next blockbuster card dubbed as ?Night of Champions? on August 30 at the Pacific grand ballroom of Waterfront-Cebu City Hotel.
Bautista, who is on a hot comeback trail, will topbill the show as he defends his WBO Intercontinental jr featherweight belt against Eden Marquez. In the co-feature, Donnie ?Ahas? Nietes will make the first defense of his WBO minimumweight throne against Eddy Castro of Nicaragua.
