Monday, October 23, 2006 Gorres TKOs foe, as Banal wins via decision By Rommel C. Manlosa Sun.Star Staff Reporter
ALA Boys Z “The Dream” Gorres and AJ “Bazooka” Banal scored contrasting wins over their Indonesian opponents at the jam-packed Mandaue City Sports and Cultural Complex Saturday evening.
Gorres toyed with the taller Sony Manakane before pulling a technical knockout win at the 1:11 mark of the fourth round in the SGG Sports Promotion’s “War In The Ring” card.
Banal, on the other hand, defused a ticking time bomb to snap Angky Angkota’s dominance over Filipino boxers following a unanimous decision win after 10 rounds in the card.
Three other ALA Boys picked separate victories.
Welterweight Mark Jason Milleguen pulled a unanimous decision win over Cris Alag, mini-flyweight Milan Milendo was awesome following his third round TKO win over Ricardo Albia in the 1:31 mark, and upcoming bantamweight Joseph Omanz kept everybody on their feet when he decked Tata Galendez for a knockout win at the 2:32 of the first round. Galendez dropped head first.
Lined up
Gorres, who is now lined up for the world title fight, neutralized Manakane’s reach and height advantage with a masterful display of skills and quickness.
Manakane threw jabs in the first round but later decided against it when it became his weak spot, which Gorres exploited.
Gorres then took advantage of Manakane’s change in strategy, taking him strong on the inside, connecting a combination of punches, as the Indonesian fighter tried to engage the Filipino warrior.
The skills and quickness of Gorres then took its toll when Manakane tried to engage in an exchange. An uppercut sent the Indonesian reeling on the ropes early on the fourth and Gorres was all over him.
Combination
Manakane managed to escape, only to be tagged again with a combination of punches when he was cornered, prompting his corner to throw in the towel.
Banal underestimated Angkota in the first round and he paid dearly for it, as a straight to the face forced him to backpedal and rethink his offense.
It was momentary though, as the youthful Cebuano fighter was able to put Angkota on the same situation on the second, third and fourth, before a one-point deduction for low blow was deducted from the scores of Angkota on the fifth.
Banal shifted his target to the body from the sixth to the 10th round, but still Angkota was able to withstand and barrage of punches, and managed to engage hs opponent toe-to-toe using his ring antics and vast experience until the final bell.
Jon Davis scored 100-91, Ben Necesario tallied 98-91 and Salven Lagumbay saw it 99-90 all in favor for Banal after 10 rounds.
Other winners—Dennis Juntillano scoring a unanimous decision win over Roldan; Malinao Jun Intor by technical decision over Carlo Magale; Wilson “Weng” Haya by unanimous decision over Markyll Taroja; Fernando Otik via second round KO over Elmer Colve; and Gil Melliguen via a TKO at 44 seconds of the second round over Jovi Merca.
