HAVING been used to the sight of a Thai fighter invading our shores and crumbling faster than a deck of cards against our local prospect, the performance of Pungluang Sor Singyu against AJ “Bazooka” Banal in their recent showdown for the vacant World Boxing Organization bantamweight championship definitely came as a big surprise to fight fans.

Sor Singyu silenced Banal in nine rounds to wrest the 118-pound crown and become Thailand’s latest boxing hero. The victory did not come easy, as Sor Singyu had to survive some heavy shelling from Banal in the early rounds. The complexion of the bout changed after the third round, when Banal emerged from an accidental clash of heads with a nasty cut on his right eyelid. While Banal continued to unload some decent combinations, the cut visibly bothered him and his confidence began to melt like butter in the succeeding rounds.

Banal mounted one last assault in the eighth round, rocking Sor Singyu with a series of hooks. It was Banal’s last hurrah, as Sor Singyu came out for the kill in the ninth stanza. Sor Singyu landed a crushing right that pinned Banal along the ropes and sent the Filipino to the canvas. American referee Tony Weeks did not see the punch and ruled the knockdown a slip. It was clear though that Banal was already in Queer Street when he got up. Sor Singyu shifted his offense to high gear and officially floored Banal with an assortment of punches. Banal still got up, but when he turned his back and his legs noticeably twitched, referee Weeks wisely pulled the plug.

The Sor Singyu who showed up at the Mall of Asia Arena was unlike any other Thai import. In the past, Thai fighters showed up in our ring and did their best imitation of Sleeping Beauty. There was nothing Prince Charming about Sor Singyu as he was more bent on delivering harm than charm.

Sor Singyu offered an aggressive style that kept Banal on his toes. While Sor Singyu only had one significant punch (the right straight), his crouching, weaving style allowed him to generate enough leverage before throwing the punch. The end-result? Whenever the right straight landed, Banal felt it down to his toenails.

Reigning WBO super bantamweight king Nonito Donaire Jr., who provided color commentary for the fight along with this writer and Ronnie Nathanielsz for network giant ABS-CBN, noted that Sor Singyu’s style was unconventional and tough to figure out. Banal did throw some uppercuts to force Sor Singyu out of his crouching stance and make him susceptible to follow-up hooks, but the Thai was tough as nails and refused to budge. Sor Singyu kept pressing forward, harassing Banal like a bill collector.

Against Sor Singyu, Banal was supposed to exorcise the demon of his unbelievable collapse against Panamanian Rafael “El Torito” Concepcion three years ago in Cebu. Fighting for the interim World Boxing Association super flyweight (115 pounds) crown, Banal was coasting to victory when he ran out of steam and capitulated in the 10th round. Unfortunately for Banal, redemption did not happen against Sor Singyu. Banal finished the fight with as many question marks as there are in The Riddler’s costume. Was it a conditioning problem again or a case of Banal’s heart betraying him once more? It could be a bad mixture of both.

Make no mistake, Banal (28-2, 20 knockouts) is a talented fighter, but in this writer’s over two decades of covering the punch-for-pay business, I’ve seen my share of talented pugilists who never went that far. When the fight goes down the wire, when push comes to shove, a fighter needs the requisite heart and will power to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. As the great Sugar Ray Leonard once said: “You have to go after the spotlight; you do not wait for the spotlight to come to you.”

Let’s hope Banal will learn his lessons and return a stronger, better fighter.

* * *

For comments, the writer can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .