Tuesday, July 29, 2008 Quijano: Perspectives on the Banal fight By Jingo Quijano Last Round
THERE’S really no need to speculate on the reasons for AJ Banal’s stunning loss last Saturday night.
After the fight, the “Bazooka” was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with fatigue and a dangerous lack of electrolytes in his body.
As the evidence itself suggests, he simply got tired and ran out of steam. And when that happens, you lose. It’s as simple as that. No matter how good you are.
And that is also why some of the greatest fighters in the sport have that one extra quality that defines their greatness and sets them apart from the rest of the pretenders: Stamina.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. When was the last time you saw him get tired?
Manny Pacquiao. He hits just as hard in the last round as the first.
Bernard Hopkins. He beats guys 10 or 15 years younger and he doesn’t even breathe hard doing it.
Roy Jones Jr. at his prime was tireless. It was when his conditioning started betraying him that he became human.
THE POPE SAYS. So how did he get tired so easily? Overtraining, as suggested by some, may indeed be the culprit.
But a lot of it has got to do with those sickening body blows cracked by “El Torito” at AJ’s midsection, especially during clinches.
Inexplicably, he allowed El Torito to do it at will. Notice how during clinches, Concepcion would whack mercilessly at his ribs
and kidneys. Those blows could dent a ringpost but AJ would refuse to tie him up.
Here’s an enlightened perspective offered by Last Rounder John Pope, on this matter which I fully subscribe to:
“Banal’s mistake was letting Conception hit him 15 to 20 times with those debilitating body shots during clinches. There are rules against hitting and holding in the clinches. Those body shots were all arm punches and don’t look like much at the time. But they add up in a 12th round fight. The biggest lesson of the night had to be the importance of tying up both hands of your opponent during a clinch. This may have been the difference between winning and losing for Banal because he definitely ran out of gas in round 10 before he was stopped with a wild right hand which he had previously been able to avoid.
Amen, Mr. Pope.
CARLOS’ PERSPECTIVE. According to Panamanian businessman Carlos Costa who felt honored he was allowed to accompany legendary trainer Hector Roca on top of the ring, “El Torito” informed him that AJ hits very hard, and that he felt his power when his nose got broken.
A vicious uppercut also made him see stars, and after a brutal left hook, he lost a tooth. A dentist was reportedly one of his demands after the fight.
However, Carlos continued that coming into this fight, he was confident of Concepcion’s win after having seen how he fared against tough opponents like Ricardo Molina and Jean Perez.
He felt that Banal had a “tailor-made” record and had not been tested enough against quality opposition.
VALUING MY PERSPECTIVE. Last Saturday night, it was not only AJ Banal who lost. It seems that I and most of my print media colleagues also lost their seats.
The seats allotted for us it seems were too few. By the time I got to the venue, they were all occupied by our media counterparts from broadcast. As a result I had to squat at one of those VIP ringside seats.
Did I feel like a VIP? No, I felt like a squatter, looking over my back, terrified at the prospect of being ejected out of my provisional quarters. What made matters worse is that I had to do it while at the same time, bobbing and weaving behind a guy who had a back wider than a mile.
LAST ROUND. It’s on my buddies Ariel Jabonero and Alvin Ginduy who recently celebrated their birthdays. Cheers!
