| |
|
MELINDO TO FACE ESTRADA
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr. PhilBoxing.com Sun, 07 Apr 2013

MACAU - ?I can beat Estrada.?
A cool and confident Milan ?El Metodico? Melindo uttered these words in front of the media when he stood on the podium for the post-fight press conference at the Venetian Macau Hotel.
Filipino sportswriters who just witnessed Juan Francisco Estrada take the world flyweight title away from Brian Viloria were still in awe of the Mexican?s uncanny ability to take power punches and immediately fire back two to three shots of his own.
The impending match-up between Melindo, the WBO mandatory flyweight challenger, and Estrada (23W-2L, 18 KO?s) was already being talked about on press row minutes after ring announcer Michael Buffer gave the official scores.
Melindo (28-0, 12 KO?s) had an impressive 4th round knockout win against Tommy Seran of Indonesia on the undercard. This sealed the deal for his long awaited title shot. Filipino fight pundits told Melindo that Estrada would be a tough opponent but Melindo brushed aside the doubts from his countrymen.
?I don?t think Estrada really hits hard.? Melindo said, ?He hit Viloria hard many times but he did not knock him out. It?s just that Viloria?s style is fit for Estrada.?
Estrada, for his part, said "I heard that Melindo wants to fight me. We'll I'll fight any day of the week."
Top Rank CEO Bob Arum plans to match Estrada and Melindo sometime during the summer. Estrada and Melindo shook hands and posed for photos after the press conference. Both will celebrate their wins, especially Estrada, who gave a career best performance.
But at the back of their minds, both fighters know they have another war ahead of them ? most probably in Macau - sometime in August.

Top Rank's Bob Arum (R) introduces Milan Melindo to the media during the post-fight press conference at The Venetian Hotel in Macau. Photos by Dong Secuya.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
Fundora vs Thurman: Can Keith Thurman Shake Off The Rust? By Chris Carlson, , Sat, 28 Mar 2026Albert Ramirez Against Lerrone Richards for the WBA Interim Light Heavyweight World Title on June 4 in Montreal! , Sat, 28 Mar 2026GM Daniel Quizon is the Favorite in 19th Kamatyas By Marlon Bernardino, , Sat, 28 Mar 2026Weights From ‘Acosta vs. Rios’ Event from Thunder Studios in Long Beach, Calif., and Broadcast live on ProBoxTV , Sat, 28 Mar 2026Mauricio Sulaiman: WBC maintains priority of the defense of fighters By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Sat, 28 Mar 2026Barrière and Akdeniz win in Montreal By Eric Armit, , Sat, 28 Mar 2026Jesse Espinas and Leboy Atencio Ready to Rumble in Thailand, LIVE on TrillerTV (Weigh-in Photos) By Carlos Costa, , Sat, 28 Mar 2026Matchroom Boxing announces new long-term contract extensions for two top UK fighters , Sat, 28 Mar 2026Thananchai Decisions "Lucky Boy" Alicaba By Carlos Costa, , Sat, 28 Mar 2026Suslenkov to defend WBA continental title against Mann at IBA.PRO 16 in Serpukhov , Fri, 27 Mar 2026SBA Builds the Future of Billiards with SBA Next and Official Pool Hub Network By Marlon Bernardino, , Fri, 27 Mar 2026Don King Productions Announces Challenger for Reigning WBC Cruiserweight World Champion Noel Mikaelian , Fri, 27 Mar 202611-0 Brooklyn heavyweight prospect Pryce Taylor developing his skills at Deontay Wilder and Andrii Novytskyi , Fri, 27 Mar 2026IBA welcomes the victory of common sense in the IOC policy on protecting women , Fri, 27 Mar 2026Genetic Testing will be required in Olympic Games By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Fri, 27 Mar 2026“Lucky Boy" Alicaba Ready for Action Friday in Thailand By Carlos Costa, , Thu, 26 Mar 2026WBO & WBA World Champion René “El Chulo” Santiago Hosts Open Media Workout Ahead of April 3 Title Defense in Tokyo , Thu, 26 Mar 2026Former WBA FEDELATIN President Panamanian Aurelio Fiengo passes away By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Thu, 26 Mar 2026The 19th edition of the Kamatyas Rapid Open and Kiddies Chess Tournament on March 28, 2026 By Marlon Bernardino, , Thu, 26 Mar 2026WIG-WHAM! MILLER PLANS ‘OLD SCHOOL’ BEATING OF PERO IN LAS VEGAS , Thu, 26 Mar 2026ProBoxTV Bringing a Storm of Flying Leather to Thunder Studios This Saturday, March 28, as Bryan Acosta Collides with Ronny Rios in Crossroads Bantamweight Slugfest , Thu, 26 Mar 2026Vito Mielnicki Jr. Training Camp Quotes , Thu, 26 Mar 2026Remembering Mr. Elorde: Still the Gold Standard By Emmanuel Rivera, RRT, , Wed, 25 Mar 2026House of Representatives say yes to the Boxing Revitalization Act and it is now sent to the Senate By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Wed, 25 Mar 2026Ryan ‘The Polish Prince’ Kielczweski To return after 4-year layoff to fight at home on Granite Chin’s ‘Rumble at the Rink II’ card , Wed, 25 Mar 2026 |

|
|
|
|
|