Gorres, Banal maul Indons; ALA Boys Melligen, Melindo and Omanz also victorious in 'War in the Ring' card

In a splendid display of boxing skills, ALA stalwarts Z "The Dream" Gorres and Alex John "Bazooka" Banal bested their top caliber Indonesian foes to the delight of the mammoth crowd that filled every nook and cranny of the Mandaue City Cultural and Sports Complex the other night.

Gorres proved he is ready for a world title shot after dismantling Indonesian super bantamweight champion Sonny Manakane in round four, while Banal showed he's already fit to venture into bigtime boxing in the United States after disposing off the iron-chinned IBF Pan-Pacific light flyweight titlist Angky Angkota via a lopsided 10-round shutout.

Gorres dished out a resounding performance that completely awed the spectators. Making the most out of his all-around ring brilliance, the well-liked Mandaue City fighter punished Manakane with an assortment of head and body shots in the first three rounds.

Gorres kept his relentless attack in the fourth round where he flustered the taller and bigger Manakane with solid punches in rapid succession, prompting the Indonesian's corner to throw in the towel.

Interestingly, the carnage continued before referee Tony Pesons eventually waved off the bout at the 1:11 mark of that round.

Gorres, who improved to 25-1-1 now with 14KOs, trains his sights next on a mandatory title crack at the WBO super flyweight crown currently held by Mexican Fernando "Cochulito" Montiel.

"I'm very ready and excited to fight for a world championship. This is really what I've been preparing for," said Gorres.

If plans won't miscarry, international promoter Sammy Gello-ani said Gorres is slated to vie for the WBO title on December 15 with no confirmed venue. The match will be broadcast on television by the Mexico-based Telemundo.

"That is the initial plan, but nothing is final yet because we still have to find out all the developments that may arise from the WBO convention which will start this Monday in Florida, USA," said Gello-ani.

In the supporting main event of the "War in the Ring," the 17-year-old Banal was made to work to the limit before getting past the very game Angkota.

Before taking full command of the bout, Banal went through some scary moments when he was wobbled by Angkota's right uppercut in the first round.

After that, Banal toyed with Angkota in a dominating fashion on the way to a one-sided unanimous decision victory. The official scores were 99-90, 100-89, and 98-91 as the pride of Corella, Bohol kept his undefeated record at 10-0-1 with 8KOS.

Despite the "Bazooka" misfired on his target to diffuse the Indon "Time Bomb" by knockout, ALA chief trainer Edito Villamor still expressed satisfaction to the commendable showing of Banal.

"Banal's failure to knock out Angkota is not all that matters. The important thing is that he was able to finish the bout and put up a good show against a very tough and durable opponent. It was more of an endurance test for him," said Villamor.

In the undercards of the very entertaining show bankrolled by SGG Sports Promotions, light welterweight prospect Mark Jason Melligen beat Chris Alag by unanimous decision over eight rounds, while Milan Melindo floored Ricardo Albia with a wicked left cross to the chin in 1:21 of round three.

Melligen, whose previous four wins were all by knockout, now holds a 5-0 slate, while Melindo stretched his unbeaten record to 7-0(2KOs).

Another ALA mainstay, Joseph Omanz, had his fair share of the limelight when he pulled off a stunning first-round knockout of Tata Galendez.

The other results saw Dennis Juntillano winning by UD over Roldan Malinao, Jun Intor defeating Carlo Magale by seventh round technical decision, Weng Haya prevailing over Markyll Taroja by unanimous verdict and Fernando Otik stopping Elmer Colve in round two.

Gil Melligen opened up the show with a second round stoppage of Jovi Merca at the 0:44 mark.