Pinoy Pride 42: Melindo and Budler at the Crossroads of Greatness

CEBU CITY -- ​In a sport where comebacks ​tend to ​dignify setbacks, a boxer?s ​claim to glory cannot materialize unless ​he sheds a sea of sweat, blood and tears.

​​This is what '​Clash For Glory' ​embodies when Pinoy Pride 42 is unleashed tonight at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino, where IBO world light flyweight champion Hekkie Budler ​of South Africa aims to separate ​Milan ?El Metodico? Melindo ​from his IBF belt.

After scoring a emphatic first round TKO win over ​Akira Yaegashi ​last May 21 ​at the Ariake Coliseum​ in Tokyo, Japan, Melindo erased the horrific memories of two failed attempts to become a world champion. The third time is, indeed, the charm​.

​Extremely dedicated and ​still dreaming of reaching greater heights, El Metodico ​vowed to leave no punch unthrown as he hopes to keep his title on his home soil and put up a show before the always appreciative Cebuano fans.

​ALA Boxing ​stable ​head coach ​Edito Villamor ​assured the ​public​ that his camp ​worked hard on Melindo's mechanics, arming him with more ammunition against a well-credentialed invader intent on scoring a major upset. ​

?Iyong timing talaga ang importante, kapag hindi mo na-timing hindi mo mapabagsak ang isang tao.?

(Timing is very important. If a fighter doesn't have good timing, it's hard to drop an opponent) ​Villamor,​ a decorated former fighter, said.​

Budler and trainer Colin Nathan arrived in ​Cebu City ​last week in order to acclimatize i​n​ ​a ​tropical ​setting, one that is a bit different from Johannesburg?s delightfully mild climate.

Confident in ​their solid game plan, Nathan ​threw diplomacy out the window and did not mince words when he declared: ?​W​e?re going there to win, end of the story.?

Clash for Glory will be more than just two fighters slugging each other with punches blasting, it's also a homecoming of sorts for two champions whose paths with meet on an intersection that will lead to greatness. ​

​Now that he is, at last, a world champion, Melindo wants to stay on top and he will employ whatever means necessary -- skill and will -- to parry this foreign challenge and set himself up for bigger fights and bigger paydays.

​Budler, on the other hand, will try to recapture his niche as​ ​light flyweight​ champion, a task he needs to accomplish in a hostile place, a boxing hotbed where not even angels dare to thread.