It was a big night for Aaron Melgarejo when he defended his Philippine super featherweight title against Judefiel Aclo last Saturday.
First, it was a mandatory defense. My ?In This Corner? partner Moy Lainez pointed out that since winning the title against Dodie Boy Agrabu last year, Melgarejo had not put his crown on the line.
The 24-year-old got sidetracked for very good reasons: the opportunity to fight in America came around, Manny Pacquiao had him as a sparring mate and there was a chance to be trained by Freddie Roach.
Last June, Melgarejo lost a unanimous decision to American Manuel Perez at the Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. There hasn?t been a call back to fight in the United States again.
With the threat of his title being stripped and nothing on the US horizon to look ahead to, Melgarejo had no choice but to defend. It is tragic in boxing when the rules take a crown away from you.
Second, the defense was set in his hometown of Bi?an, Laguna. Melgarejo is from that line of Olivetti fighters of the area. Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez and Mayor Lenlen Alonte-Naguiat made the title fight happen at the town plaza.
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At the crossroads of the market and a Catholic church, the town plaza has a multipurpose facility that is covered, lit well and ventilated with the wind passing through several passageways.
A different fiesta happens at these free pa-boxings. A sound system plays endless dance music. Enterprising street food vendors entice with visual and aromatic delights.
The locals come as they are. Male senior citizens in baseball caps gather the minute the boxing ring goes up; they stay from the first fight to the last round, unless something important forces them to grudgingly go home.
Barkadas and fathers toting young kids to probably watch their first live boxing show arrive in sleeveless shirts, basketball jerseys and shorts.
Wives, girlfriends, mothers or lolas follow around 8 p.m., looking for their men and boys who missed dinner. Often, they hide their faces as the punches get more lethal or scream words of encouragement for a boxer that is one of their own or impresses them.
Close to 2,000 of them fill the town center converted into a boxing arena.
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Melgarejo did not disappoint the home crowd. He floored the sixth-ranked Aclo twice in the early rounds. By the sixth, the challenger was a weary foe and was decked one last time. Referee Ferdie Estrella stopped the fight at the 1:40 mark. Bi?an erupted and cheered the masterful job of their champion. It was his uppercut that did the damage.
?Alam ko pag yuko niya, kaya kong tamaan ng upper (I knew that when he stooped low, I could hit him with an upper cut),? explained Melgarejo near the stage where he thanked the VIPs who attended his title defense.
The champion is unfazed by the first US loss and considers his time with Roach a boost to his career.
?Dahil kay Freddie Roach nag-improve ang confidence ko, lateral movement at patience (Roach improved my confidence, lateral movement and patience).?
Lainez mentioned that Melgarejo might get a second US chance in the December De La Hoya-Pacquiao card. Nothing firm yet but one can only imagine the excitement Melgarejo is bottling up with the thought of getting back to Vegas.
Like all boxers who have fought in the entertainment capital, Melgarejo wants to stay on course for the return trip. The detour back home to Bi?an was a necessary one for all the right reasons.
