Fight of the future: AJ Banal vs. Abner Mares

In the epic rivalry between Mexico and Puerto Rico, the fight of Salvador Sanchez vs. Wilfredo "Bazooka" Gomez, is one of the most anticipated fight in the early 80's. Both of them are arguably the best fighter in their nation.

Gomez dominated 122 division and moved up to 126 to challenge Sanchez, the best featherweight and the WBC 126 champion during that time. The fight was held in a sold out crowd in Caesars Palace, Las Vegas.

Gomez is an all out aggressor, mostly initiated the war while Sanchez used his technical brilliance and height advantage to box and mix his money punch against Gomez. The fight was very close till Gomez was downed and was stopped by Sanchez in the 8th round.

Back to the present, a rising prospect emerged. Abner Mares from Guadalajara, Mexico is considered the next Salvador Sanchez by the boxing experts due to his fighting style. He fights at Bantamweight division (118lbs) and has an impressive record with 14 wins (9KO) and 0 losses. He is steadily developed under Golden Boy Promotions.

Now enter AJ "Bazooka" Banal (15-0-1-12KOs) who was named from legendary Wilfredo "Bazooka" Gomez due to his explosiveness in the ring. Banal campaigns at Super-flyweight (116 lbs) is being eyed by the Golden Boy Promotions as a potential talent.

A fight in the future between these two prospects is surely attractive and a must see match up since both them already have a fan base. It will also bring back the memory of the two legendary fighters, Salvador Sanchez and Wilfredo "Bazooka" Gomez.

Below is the video of the classic fight of Sanchez and Gomez.

Ring Magazine Top 10 Superflyweights

Superflyweight (115 lbs) is one of the best divisions in the boxing world in which AJ Banal also campaigns. Here are the list of 10 best Superfly by Ring Magazine (October 29, 2007).

1) MARTIN CASTILLO 32-2 (17)
Mexico













2) ALEXANDER MUNOZ 31-2 (27)
Venezuela - WBA Champion













3) NOBUO NASHIRO 9-1 (5)
Japan














4) CRISTIAN MIJARES 33-3-2 (14)
Mexico - WBC Champion














5) FERNANDO MONTIEL 35-2-1 (26)
Mexico - WBO Champion













6) JORGE ARCE 47-4-1 (36)
Mexico















7) KATSUSHIGE KAWASHIMA 32-6 (21)
Japan









8) DIMITRI KIRILOV 29-3 (9)
Russia - IBF Champion















9) JOSE NAVARRO 26-3 (12)
USA













10) Z GORRES 27-2-1 (15)
Philippines