Thai fighter Pungluang Sor Singyu wants a knockout in six rounds but his fancied Filipino rival says he won?t let that happen.
?He says he will knock me out in six rounds but it won?t happen because I will knock him out in five rounds,? said AJ Banal when they faced each other yesterday at the Midas Hotel ahead of their scheduled 12-round match for the vacant World Boxing Organization bantamweight crown on Saturday night.
Still, Banal said he is ready to go the full route with Sor Singyu.
?If I can get him out in the first round, then I?ll get him but if he wants to go 12 rounds, I am ready to go 12 rounds,? said Banal.
Armed with 130 rounds of sparring, Banal swore he is in the best shape of his career and Michael Domingo, his stablemate at the ALA Boxing Club, said Banal is ready to rumble.
Domingo spent some quality time sparring with Banal and expressed optimism about Banal?s chances of winning the WBO 118-lb belt.
?AJ is in great shape,? said Domingo.
Sor Singyu hardly spoke a word even though he was aided by a translator but maintained that he is looking forward to shocking the crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena, which will be hosting its first boxing show.
Tony Weeks, a familiar fixture in high-profile fights in Las Vegas, will be the referee of the Banal-Sor Singyu encounter. The three judges are Levi Martinez, Raul Caiz Jr. and Robert Hoyle.
While focus will be on the Banal-Sor Singyu scuffle, out to steal the thunder are Filipino punchers Rey ?Boom Boom? Bautista, Jason Pagara and Domingo.
Bautista collides with Daniel Ruiz of Mexico in a 12-round featherweight match, while super-lightweight Pagara faces Miguel Antoine of Barbados in another 12-rounder and Domingo meets Mudde Ntambe Rabison of Uganda in an eight-rounder.
