SOME fighters have nothing to lose and all to gain.
This is what ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer thinks of their star boxer AJ ?Bazooka? Banal?s hungry opponent, Indonesian champion Nouldy Manakane.
Aldeguer, who saw the downfall of his young fighter against an unheralded warrior named Rafael Concepcion last year, is not taking his chances on this fight and has methodically prepared Banal for his comeback fight on Jan. 31 in the ICM car park in Tagbilaran City.
?We are not overlooking his opponent because he is an Indonesian champion and is ranked in the OPBF (Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation) . He is here to fight and he has nothing to lose like what Concepcion did,? Aldeguer said in an interview with Sun.Star Cebu yesterday.
Manakane has a 17-7-1 win-loss-draw record with eight knockouts and is No.4 in the OPBF. The Indonesian is also ranked in the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Asia-Pacific and the International Boxing Federation Pan Pacific and has fought the likes of former world title contender Hussein Hussein and WBO No.1 contender Posuwan Promunsak.
Most talented
If Banal is successful in his return, Aldeguer will slowly pit him against higher caliber opponents until he fully regains his confidence.
?AJ is one of the most talented fighters. We are excited about his comeback, and at the same time concerned. If he wins impressively then we will give him a bigger fight in either March or April. Then maybe after, we will give him a tougher opponent later on but we?re not in a hurry,? Aldeguer said.
On the other hand, Aldeguer has mixed emotions on the return of ALA boy Czar Amonsot because he doesn?t know what to expect when the Boholano pugilist faces the Indonesian warrior Zoel Fidal.
?We are concerned and at the same time excited because we have never seen him this well-prepared for a fight. We are still a little bit nervous because of what happened in the past and because we don?t know what to expect,? Aldeguer said.
Fidal is a top lightweight contender and has a 16-6-2 record with seven KOs.
ALA Promotions will not be rushing Amonsot?s career because he is still rusty after being sidelined from a head injury he got from his brutal fight with Australian brawler Michael ?The Great? Katsidis in 2007.
?We will take our time. We want his confidence to be back because he was in a long layoff,? said Aldeguer.
When asked if ALA Promotions is open to a rematch between Amonsot and Katsidis, Aldeguer said, ?We haven?t thought of that. Katsidis is Katsidis. It?s still a tough fight. We?re still focused on his upcoming fight.?
