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Philippines, 24 Nov 2024 |
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WOUNDED TIGER: SABILLO HUNTS FOR ANOTHER TITLE BELT PhilBoxing.com Sun, 26 Oct 2014  CEBU--There was a noticeable pain in his voice when Merlito Sabillo spoke to Cebu sportswriters early this month. This was his first formal appearance in the Philippines? fight capital since he lost his WBO minimumweight title belt to Francisco Rodriguez,Jr in Mexico last March. He was quite honest about how he felt after losing for the first time in his pro career; the initial anger and confusion and the subsequent melancholy that took over when he went home. ?I want to take back the name that I lost,? He vowed. He was more relaxed when he met members of sports media against three weeks later in an informal gathering. Getting back to the demanding routine of preparing for a fight must have done him some good. ?I want to win another world title belt,? he said. He will take the first step this November 15 when he fights on the undercard of PINOY PRIDE 28 which is headlined by Donnie ?Ahas? Nietes defense of his WBO light flyweight title against Carlos Velarde of Mexico. Sabillo is aware that his nemesis Rodriguez will be here in Cebu and will fight another Filipino in a non-title contest. ?I heard that he will be moving up in weight,? Sabillo said, ?I plan to stay at 105 lbs where I am still comfortable at making weight.? Rodriguez, who has fought at 112 lbs when he lost to Roman Gonzalez of Nicaragua, has been reported to be planning a move to the 108 lb division after he unified the 105 lb title by beating the IBF champ Katsunari Takayama of Japan last August. This could pave the way for Sabillo (23W-1L-1D,12 KO?s) getting another title shot. But first he must return to the win column against Faris Nenggo (8-6-3,2KO?s), a former Indonesian minimumweight champion. ALA gym trainer Edmund Villamor told this writer that they have been working on his flaws, ?He needs to improve his defense especially on how to use his footwork to avoid getting hit, taking a step back to avoid counters.? Taking a step back was never in Sabillo?s vocabulary. The former street fighter from Bacolod City fought only in one way ? forward. This earned him the moniker ?Tiger? and made fans - as well as the few boxing writers who had a chance to see him when he was a little known prospect. ? sit up and take notice. The 30 year old Sabillo learned boxing relatively late and relied on pure guts when he traveled to Colombia for his title win against Luis dela Rosa. But his flaws were unraveled when he faced Carlos Buitrago of Nicaragua in his second title defense at the Araneta Coliseum. The fight was a poor man?s Pacquiao-Marquez, with Buitrago landing surgical counters and the southpaw Sabillo operating on raw aggression to earn a split draw. Villamor also stated that they will work on developing Sabillo?s right hand knowing that too much dependence on his left will no longer work at the top level. Sabillo and the rest of the cast for Pinoy Pride XVIII: ?HISTORY IN THE MAKING? were at the Fuente Osmena Circle Saturday evening for a public sparring session to promote the November 15 card set at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel. Aside from Nietes and Sabillo, fans will get to see Milan ?El Metodico? Melindo, who will face Mexico?s Saul Juarez in an IBF light flyweight eliminator and ?Prince? Albert Pagara will defend his IBF Inercontinental super bantamweight title against another Mexican, Raul Hiralles, AJ ?Bazooka? Banal vs Thai Maxsaisai Sithsaithong, and Mark ?Magnifico? Magsayo vs South Korean Moon-Sun Jung. 
Photo- Merlito Sabillo (left)throws a right jab against sparring partner Roland Estrella at the Fuente Osmena Circle Saturday night Click here for a complete listing of columns by this author. Click here for a complete listing of this author's articles from different news sources. |
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