CEBUANO boxing fans will be in for a treat as two world-class boxing events hit Cebu City before the year ends.
After days of pondering where to hold the bout between AJ Banal and former world champion Luis Alberto Perez, ALA Promotions has finally decided to hold the bout here in Cebu City instead of Dubai.
?We felt that it was too big a fight that the fans in Cebu, who have supported AJ through thick and thin especially from that devastating loss to Concepcion, deserve to witness. The fans in Cebu deserve another big fight from AJ Banal since this will be his biggest fight since (Rafael) Concepcion,? said ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer.
This fight is the Cebuano?s biggest fight in Cebu City since his heart-breaking loss to Concepcion over two years ago at the Cebu Coliseum.
The Banal-Perez bout will be at Oct. 30 at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino.
ALA Promotions is also preparing for another blockbuster boxing event on Nov. 27 at the same venue, where highly-rated Filipino Milan Melindo takes on ex-world titleholder Carlos Tamara.
?We have finalized two mega fights this year. Not since (Fernando) Montiel, (Vic) Darchinyan, and Rafael Concepcion have there been big foreign fighters who fought in Cebu until now,? said the Cebuano promoter.
Both Banal and Melindo are up against tough competition. The 32-year-old Perez is a two-division world champion. He has beaten the likes of Felix Machado and Dimitri Kirilov.
Tamara, on the other hand, is a former Olympian and defeated Brian Viloria for the International Boxing federation light flyweight title early this year.
?It will be the biggest fight of Banal and Milan because of the reputation of both their opponents. This is the definitely the biggest test for Milan,? said Aldeguer.
Also slated in the undercard of the Banal-Perez fight are US-based Mark Jason Melligen, 18-year-old phenom Jason Pagara and hard-hitting Larry Canillas.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on September 21, 2010.
