AJ ?Bazooka? Banal will make his ring return next month, but not in his usual spot in the main event, rather as one of the undercard bouts in the upcoming Pinoy Pride 21 boxing show in Manila.
Banal ends his long layoff as he takes on Mexican Ramon Maas on July 6 in a non-title bout that could determine his career.
?It?s hard to say as to what level he can reach, no question about his talent but it is his will that needs to be checked. Boxing is a very difficult sport and talent is not all you need to be successful. This fight will be important to see if he can come back or not. Banal is also aware that there are a lot of upcoming fighters who are ready to take Philippine boxing by storm, so he needs to push himself more.
He understands that he will have to work his way up again and start as an undercard to upcoming stars (Merlito) Sabillo and (Arthur) Villanueva,? ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer told Sun.Star Cebu yesterday.
Banal, 28-2-1 with 20 knockouts, hasn?t fought since his devastating ninth-round technical knockout loss to Pungluang Sor Singyu for the vacant WBO bantamweight title last Oct. 20 in Manila. It was a fight that he was favored to win.
The 24-year-old former world-rated boxer also suffered a similar loss in 2008, when he fought for the interim World Boxing Association super flyweight belt against Rafael Concepcion. Banal gassed out and was stopped by the bullish Concepcion in the 10th round at the jam-packed Cebu Coliseum.
Maas has an impressive 26-3 record with 15 knockouts but he is coming off back-to-back losses against Jonathan Ramos Lecona and Mario Briones, who lost to Banal.
Headlining the latest Pinoy Pride, which might be staged at the new Solaire Resort and Casino, is the title defense of unbeaten WBO mini-flyweight champion Merlito Sabillo.
Sabillo (21-0, 11 KOs) will defend his world title against Colombian Jorle Estrada (16-6, 5 KOs).
In the supporting main event, Arthur Villanueva (21-0, 11 KOs) gets a step up in competition as he faces off with former world title contender Arturo Badillo (21-4, 19 KOs) for the vacant WBO Asia-Pacific super flyweight strap.
