Title Goes to Banke This Time : Boxing: He stops Zaragoza in the ninth round to take the WBC super-bantamweight championship.

Paul Banke, the little rock-fisted fighter from Quail Valley, has been called a crowd-pleaser, a brawler and a slugger. Now, call him a champion.

That’s what he became at the Forum Monday night, when, behind on points, he stopped Mexico’s Daniel Zaragoza in the ninth round and earned the World Boxing Council super-bantamweight championship.

Banke (19-4), 26, began the ninth trailing substantially on all three judges’ cards, 78-75, 78-74 and 79-73. After he decked Zaragoza twice in that round, the champion rose both times. But when Zaragoza climbed shakily off the mat the second time, referee John Thomas waved him off and Banke leaped into the arms of his cornermen.

It was a rousing battle, one that had both men near exhaustion after six rounds in a rematch of their exciting fight last June, when Zaragoza won a split decision.

This was the sixth time that Zaragoza (39-5-1), 29, was defending his championship. Both fighters weighed the super-bantam limit, 122 pounds.

And this time, Banke was not to be denied. Last time, he clowned, mugged and made faces at the champion and frittered away the early rounds. This time, it seemed, he won it on heart. And why not? He fights for Bob Richardson’s All Heart Boxing Club of Quail Valley, in Riverside County.

These two put a fight-of-the year candidate on the boards. They had the crowd of 5,937 on its feet, cheering throughout. Time after time, Banke seemed ready to take out the weakening champion, who bled throughout from numerous facial cuts. But each time Banke seemed to have Zaragoza ready to go, usually on the ropes, Zaragoza not only countered his way out of trouble, he often rocked Banke back on his heels.

Zaragoza’s manager thought his fighter got caught in Banke’s game, trading bombs all too frequently rather than moving and showing his craftsmanship.

“He fought with his heart, not with his head,” manager Rafael Mendoza said.

Banke paid tribute Zaragoza.

“He was tougher than the last time,” Banke said. “But tonight I was more relaxed. I concentrated (after the first knockdown) on keeping pressure on him, on not letting him off the hook, like I did the last time. He’s a great fighter, he was throwing bombs from left field and landing them.”

Banke, who earned $15,000 to Zaragoza’s $50,000, inherits a mandatory title defense against South Korean slugger Moon Sung-Kil, in June. Forum matchmaker Tony Curtis has a 10 a.m. meeting today with Moon’s promoter, trying to place a June 18 Banke-Moon fight in the Forum.

But win or lose against Moon, it’s a good bet that Curtis will want to put together a Banke-Zaragoza rubber match.

On the undercard, ex-WBC super-flyweight champion Gilberto Roman beat Mike Phelps on nine-round technical decision, after Roman suffered a deep eye cut when butted by Phelps.