MILAN Melindo and Arthur Villanueva may have suffered tough losses but they are out to prove to everybody that they are still world-class fighters as they headline Pinoy Pride 34 -Back with a Vengeance? on Nov. 28 at the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City in a couple of career-defining fights.
?We are looking at someone that will give him a test and bring him back to the level where he?s at. We believe in Milan,? said ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer in yesterday?s press conference at the St. Mark Hotel.
The 27-year-old Melindo (32-2, 12 KOs) suffered his second career defeat, a controversial technical decision loss to International Boxing Federation (IBF) light flyweight champion Javier Mendoza in Mexico in May.
Melindo is fighting for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) light flyweight crown in the main event against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.
ALA Promotions is grooming Melindo to campaign in the WBO light flyweight division and fight for the title as soon as current champion Donnie Nietes decides to move up in weight.
As tough as his loss to Mendoza was, Melindo still believes that his time as a world champion will come.
?I?m not being boastful but I believe I won that fight. I feel that it still wasn?t my time to shine and God still has something in store for me,? said Melindo. ?Trials are made to make you stronger. You will see the result in my next fight.?
Like Melindo, Villanueva (27-1, 14 KOs) also had a heart-breaking technical decision defeat in a fight that he could have won against McJoe Arroyo for the vacant IBF super flyweight belt in July.
Villanueva was starting to gain momentum but the fight was stopped in the 10th round and went to the scorecards after the ring physician decided that the 26-year-old Bacolod City native was unfit to continue due to a huge gash above his right eye.
Villanueva took his first career defeat very hard.
?My first loss was very hard to take especially when it was a world championship fight and also because I felt that I had a chance of winning. I felt that I still had more to give but the referee stopped it,? said Villanueva, who vented his frustration by shaving off his hair. ?But despite what happened, I still thank God for the opportunity and I hope that I will be given another chance to fight for a world title.?
Villanueva will be fighting for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) International super flyweight belt in the co-main event.
?We hope to break into the world rankings (WBC). We are looking at what?s out there. We want to build him up again and put him back on the radar,? said Aldeguer.
