Minutes after AJ Banal?s shocker of a KO defeat last Saturday at the New Cebu Coliseum, I spotted sportsman, banker-lawyer and indefatigable Misamis Oriental Governor Oscar Moreno making his way towards me.
I immediately went down to meet him on the floor, and just as we were starting our conversation, I saw Banal walking towards the dugout. Gov. Moreno and I were in the way, so we both stepped back to give room for the forlorn pugilist.
When he was a few feet away from us, Banal suddenly stopped in his tracks and collapsed in a heap. ALA chief trainer Edito Villamor, who was a step behind the boxer, tried to catch him, but was unable to prop him up possibly because of his slick, perspiration-drenched body. Lightning-quick to react however, was ALA president Michael Aldeguer, who was leading the way.
When he sensed what was happening Michael, who was his customarily dapper and elegant self in a white long-sleeved shirt and jacket, immediately put his arms around the fallen boxer and pulled him up to his feet whereupon he and Edito helped him to the dugout.
It didn?t seem to matter to the Aldeguer scion that Banal was covered in sweat that soiled his natty threads; it was obviously a reflex action by someone who genuinely cared.
When I talked to Michael yesterday on my regular Monday radio program over DzSR (918 KHz; 10:30 a.m. to 12 noon), he made light of the act, saying he didn?t even think about it.
“AJ has been with us since he was 10. He?s practically a brother to me and a son to my father (Tony Aldeguer). More than his boxing career, we want to ensure he is safe and nothing untoward happens to him. I didn?t even realize I did that until you mentioned it now,” says the hard-working executive who immediately rushed Banal to the Cebu Doctors Hospital.
As we spoke long distance, Michael was attending to Banal?s release from the hospital after making sure he was well-rested and taken care of after the ordeal.
Asked what the doctors said of Banal?s inability to continue the fight, he said he still had to talk to them at length, although initial test results revealed the boxer?s electrolytes and sodium levels were down.
The young Aldeguer also said he needed to talk to AJ himself to find out what really happened since inquiries with handlers Edito and Edmund Villamor revealed he did not complain to them about anything prior to the fateful 10th round.
“He was leading on all the judges? scorecards, the crowd thought he was on the way to a lopsided win, but he just crumpled to the canvass. But I feel AJ did the best thing under the circumstances. He said he couldn?t convince his body to continue, and when your body tells you something like that, it?s best to listen. Again, no championship belt is more important than our boxers? health and welfare.”
“Besides, AJ is young, skilled and has a good attitude. If he decides to pick up from where he left off, we?ll be there to support him every step of the way. We still believe he will eventually make it.”
As of now, Aldeguer says their priorities are to make sure AJ is alright and then sit down with his father and the trainers to assess what happened. And then it is back to the drawing boards to chart a new path to glory.
Many have come out with their own analysis of the setback, but I will beg off from advancing an opinion. Like most of those who watched live or on TV, I thought Banal got the better of the exchanges until it came to the sudden end.
Rafael Concepcion however, was undoubtedly the winner and I have had my hands full with queries from kith and kin for the whys and wherefores. I?m afraid I have no answers.
One thing sure though, Banal is also a winner for having decent people who manage his career. What I saw with my own eyes as a heart-warming gesture on the part of Michael Aldeguer was something that could not have been contrived or staged. Not too many people could have seen it.
But I felt I had to tell of it if only to assure those who have become cynical about the characters in boxing that indeed there are still some decent ones in what has been derisively dubbed as “the red light district of sports.”
More than his breeding, pedigree and managerial abilities, Michael Aldeguer, the young president of ALA Promotions is one decent and upright young man.
