| |
|
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:
THE PAST WEEK IN ACTION 17 MARCH 2026: Collazo Stops Haro; Fundora KO Ruiz; Barboza Outpoints Sims; Cacace UD Dickens By Eric Armit, , Wed, 18 Mar 2026Tapales Near Peak Form Ahead of April 3 Tokyo Showdown with Oguni , Wed, 18 Mar 2026MILLER AND PERO CLASH IN HEAVYWEIGHT SHOWDOWN IN LAS VEGAS ON APRIL 25 , Wed, 18 Mar 2026Middleweight Championship Battle Between (C) Khamzat Chimaev and (#3) Sean Strickland Headlines UFC® 328 at Prudential Center Live on Paramount+ , Wed, 18 Mar 2026Sampson Lewkowicz & TM Boxing Sign Undefeated Mexican Prospect José Ángel Guerrero to Co-Promotional Deal , Wed, 18 Mar 202612-Time World Champion & Hall of Famer James Toney Confirmed for Ninth Annual Box Fan Expo, During Cinco De Mayo Weekend, Saturday May 2, in Las Vegas , Wed, 18 Mar 2026Five stitches for Donaire’s cut By Joaquin Henson, , Tue, 17 Mar 2026Roberto Gomez Training Camp Notes , Tue, 17 Mar 2026Esneth Domingo Trains at the Wildcard Gym in Los Angeles Ahead of His US Debut , Tue, 17 Mar 2026Tatay Digong Birthday Run on March 28 By Lito delos Reyes, , Tue, 17 Mar 202612-0 prospect Marco Romero to headline This Friday in Independence, Missouri , Tue, 17 Mar 2026700 athletes on March 21-22 at UM By Lito delos Reyes, , Tue, 17 Mar 2026United States Earns Four Gold Medals on Final Day of 2026 World Boxing Futures Cup , Mon, 16 Mar 2026Mexico wins 2 bronze medals at World Boxing Futures Cup in Bangkok By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Mon, 16 Mar 2026Arnold Barboza Jr. Shines in Welterweight Debut, Defeats Kenneth Sims Jr. to Claim Wbo Global Welterweight Title , Sun, 15 Mar 2026WBC top contender Canoy returns to Davao with Unanimous Decision Victory , Sun, 15 Mar 2026John Randall Peralta: The Future of the Philippine Chess By Marlon Bernardino, , Sun, 15 Mar 2026Alvin “Felemon” Dologuin Claims Win in Brico Santig’s Show in Thailand (PHOTOS) , Sun, 15 Mar 2026Donaire's Yokohama Showdown: Can our Filipino Flash Outshine the Rising Sun? (WEIGH-IN PHOTOS) By Carlos Costa, , Sun, 15 Mar 2026USA Boxing Youth High Performance Team Wins Five of Eight Bouts on Day Six , Sun, 15 Mar 2026Shai Gilgeous-Alexander surpasses Chamberlain's record of 127 consecutive NBA games with 20 points or more By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Sun, 15 Mar 2026World-Ranked Light Heavyweight Najee Lopez Stops Mexican Terminator Manuel Gallego in Eight Classic Rounds in Main Event of ProBoxTV’s ‘The Contender Series’ , Sat, 14 Mar 2026Weigh-in from Highland Boxing in Bangkok, Thailand; Dologuin in Action (WEIGH-IN PHOTOS) , Sat, 14 Mar 2026Oval rules 35th CityHeights slugfest By Lito delos Reyes, , Sat, 14 Mar 2026Sims vs. Barboza and Dickens vs. Cacace Headline Doubleheader on DAZN By Chris Carlson, , Sat, 14 Mar 2026 |

|
|
|
|
|