African 'Golden Boy' ready for Banal war

CEBU, Philippines - African ‘Golden Boy’ Mbwana Matumla of Tanzania yesterday trumpeted he’s a top-grade fighter and that he is ready to wage war against the comebacking ALA Stable standout AJ “Bazooka” Banal this Saturday night at the Cebu Coliseum.

So confident Matumla was that he even bragged he’s better than the legendary Oscar de la Hoya, the original ‘Golden Boy” of boxing.

 “I’m a good boxer. I’m better than De La Hoya,” the former IBO super flyweight champion answered when asked by reporters why he is monickered as “Golden Boy” in a news conference at Patio Isabel restaurant.

Matumla, who sports an 18-3-1 record spiked with 10KOs, said he’s prepared to go the full 10-round distance, but warned he would not hesitate to go for a knockout if opportunity presents itself.

“I’m very much prepared for this fight. We’ll just see on Saturday. If the fight last to 10 rounds, I’m ready,” added Matumla.

Emmanuel Mlundwa, Matumla’s manager, is likewise optimistic that his ward is capable of destroying Banal. He, however, denied earlier reports taken from an African newspaper that Matumla vowed to flatten Banal.

“We’re not saying that. The press can write anything but we’re confident that we can win by knockout,” clarified Mlundwa.

Although no title is at stake, the bout is of paramount importance for both Matumla and Banal.

“After this fight, we will defend the ICB title,” said Mlundwa, obviously referring to Matumla who is the reigning International Circuit Boxing (ICB) bantamweight title-holder.

Banal, on the other hand, is faced with a tougher challenge as he is hard-pressed to come up with an impressive victory so as not to jeopardize the big break that looms ahead of him.

ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer divulged the other day that Banal has been assured by Golden Boy Promotions vice president Eric Gomez and international matchmaker Sampson Lewkowicz to see action in the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather-Juan Manuel Marquez on July 18 in Las Vegas if he gets past Matumla.

Also, the 20-year-old Banal seeks to regain the adoration of his Cebuano fans that somehow diminished when he suffered a 10th round knockout loss to Panamian Rafael “El Torito” Concepcion in their WBA interim super flyweight title match on July 26 last year also at the Coliseum. It was Banal’s first and only loss so far in 19 fights dotted with 15KOs.

In the equally-explosive supporting bouts of the Banal-Matumbla rumble topbilling the “Pagsubok” card, Kenyan Morris Chule (11-6-2, 8KOs) vowed to put up an entertaining show against ALA mainstay Czar Amonsot (19-3-1, 11KOs) so as Indonesian Hero Katili (20-6-1, 9KOs) against rising ALA star and reigning WBO Youth lightweight champion Jason Pagara (17-1, 9KOs).

Meanwhile, the final press conference of the “Pagsubok” card will be done at 11 am today at the Cebu Grand Hotel. The official weigh-in of the slambang event bankrolled by ALA Promotions in association with giant TV network ABS-CBN will be held at the SM City-Cebu Entertainment Center tomorrow.

Tickets are reasonably priced at P50 for general admission, P150 for upper box, P300 for lower box, P500 for ringside, P1,500 for VIP 1st row, P1, 250 for VIP 2nd row, and P1,000 for VIP 3rd row. Tickets are available at ALA Promotions office (032-2364611), ALA Gym-BTC (032-4162011), Island Souvenir boutique-Ayala (032-2312581), USA Sports-Ayala (032-2321854), and Bisaya Ispisyal Boutique (032-2326888). – THE FREEMAN