By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Panama's Rafael “El Torito” Copcepcion who battles AJ “Bazooka” Banal for the World Boxing Association super flyweight title at the Cebu Coliseum on Saturday missed his connecting flight from Los Angeles to Manila and failed to arrive time for a Sunday afternoon public workout at the SM Mall in Cebu City.
Michael Aldeguer informed Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today that Concepcion who had been training for the past couple of weeks at Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn, New York failed to catch the flight from LA after his flight out of New York was delayed. Concepcion is now scheduled to arrive on Monday. However, his manager Damon De Berry of Optimum Sports Agency has arrived in Cebu.
In the absence of the Panamanian fighter, the other big names on the card aside from Banal, the undefeated 19 year old, Philippine bantamweight champion Michael Domingo and WBO regional champion Milan Melindo will strut their wares in the public workout.
Banal has looked good in sparring in preparation for the clash with Concepcion, the hard-hitting Panamanian who has a record of 10-2 with 6 knockouts and is coming off a third round stoppage of Jean Piero Perez in a rematch after winning a split decision in their first encounter.
