CEBU CITY, Philippines ? It was a mismatch right off as Panama?s Rafael Concepcion, coming in a full pound over the limit, took nearly two hours before passing yesterday?s official weight test for the World Boxing Association super flyweight interim championship here.
AJ Banal, on the other hand, used less than 15 seconds to complete the weigh-in requirement, registering exactly 115 lb over the scales.
Mystified, Concepcion snarled and dared Banal to mix it up right there on the makeshift stage at the SM Cebu Mall on Friday.
Concepcion, son of a truck driver from Panama, said he could not fathom how he suddenly added excess poundage after checking in exactly at 115 lb using a calibrated machine on the eve of the weigh-in.
?Banal is very strong, good, very good, he?s great, but I will beat him because I?m stronger and better,? boasted Concepcion, who still exuded youth and power despite the unscheduled trimming.
He jogged for over an hour around the mall area, before being clamped inside a bristling car that had been left under the sun, to induce necessary sweat.
Banal, waiting for Concepcion to reappear on the stage, tried to play it mysterious and told media men he?s not supposed to divulge what they plan to do inside the ring.
?May mga plano, pero kailangangbasahin ko muna siya?([?I will size him up before I carry out our battle plans?], said the 19-year-old top prodigy of Cebu sportsman Tony Aldeguer.
Banal refused to elaborate.
No mystery, they are not hiding anything, insisted trainer Ala Villamor, who explained Banal will have to shift from his usual jab-and-press style.
?We will have to wait for an opening, we will wait for him to make mistakes, open up,? Villamor added.
In short, they will rely heavily on steady counter-punching, Villamor said.
Villamor, a former top-rate world light flyweight contender, said they are resorting to the new ploy because Concepcion is a wide puncher who relies heavily on hooks.
Concepcion, fighting for the first time outside of Panama as a pro, refused to divulge battle plans but assured it would be a hard and very good fight.
?There?s no such thing as an easy fight, and this goes for both me and Banal, whom I respect,? Concepcion told the Inquirer.
The unbeaten Banal remains the popular choice to score his 15th knockout in his 18th pro fight tonight.
Banal has sparred 150 rounds in a three-month preparation for the WBA interim championship.
Concepcion said he has sparred no less than 300 rounds.
If successful, Banal would clash in December for the full WBA 115 lb crown against the winner of a scheduled elimination bout between two top-rated Japanese contenders in Tokyo.
That dream fight, this early, is being touted as undercard for the proposed Manny Pacquiao-Oscar De La Hoya bout in Las Vegas before the year ends.
