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MELINDO NOW RING NO. 5 STRAWWEIGHT CONTENDER By Maloney L. Samaco PhilBoxing.com Wed, 18 Mar 2009  Milan ?Milenyo? Melindo barged into The Ring Magazine ratings from out of nowhere to No. 5 in the latest rankings as of March 15, 2009. He earned this when he won by a unanimous decision against former IBF mini-flyweight champion Muhammad Rachman. Melindo is also ranked No. 1 by the WBO, NO. 4 by the WBA, and No. 6 by the WBC. It showed that the ALA fighter has been transformed into a world class contender. The Indonesian veteran slid down to No.6 ranking from No.5 now occupied by the Cebu-based Cagayan de oro City fighter. Melindo improved his professional record to 18-0-0 with 5 KOs, while Rachman dropped to 62-7-5 with 31 KOs. Still young and very promising, the 21-year-old Melindo used his incredible speed and his wide range of punches to convince the judges unanimously, 97-93, 98-92 and 96-94. At the start, it looked like the 37-year-old veteran gave the confrontation he promised, as he indicated earlier that this was just a tune-up fight for him. But the undefeated Melindo proved why he is now a world rated challenger and showed a big heart and sheer determination by outclassing Rachman in the later rounds. Both boxers gave the audience the bruising fight they wanted and in the end it showed that youth prevailed over experience. Melindo is also the reigning WBO Asia-Pacific and WBA Intercontinental mini-flyweight champion. He proved that fighting a very strong opponent only brought out the best in him. He outclassed the fighter 16 years his senior in the later rounds to get the nod of all the judges. Michael Aldeguer believed that the fight was a tough test for Melindo because Rachman was an experienced and durable fighter. But his boxer devotedly followed the game plan and emerged successful at the end. Aldeguer wanted Melindo to face a Mexican opponent in his next fight. He added it will take three or four big fights for Melindo before he would take a crack at the world title. While The Ring Magazine strawweight champion remained vacant, Roman Gonzales of Nicaragua, the WBA champion, stayed at No.1 followed by Raul Garcia of Mexico, the IBF champion, at No. 2. Oleydong Sitsamerchai of Thailand, the WBC champion, kept hold of No. 3 and so did Filipino Florante Condes at No. 4. Katsunari Takayama of Japan slid down to No. 7 while Donnie Nietes, the WBO champion, slipped to No. 8. Nkosinathi Joyi of South Africa became No. 9 and Juan Palacios of Nicaragua remained at No. 10. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.  |
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