Ranked No.1 by the World Boxing Organization (WBO) in the flyweight division and virtually assured of a shot at the world title, Milan ?El Metodico? Melindo took on Venezuelan Jean Piero Perez on September 22 with the sheer intention of working up a decent sweat.
Perez, 31, was supposed to be in his dog years already. While a former interim World Boxing Association (WBA) flyweight titlist, Perez (19-4, 14 knockouts) had been inactive going into the Melindo fight. In June 2011, he was bamboozled in two rounds by Argentinian prospect Juan Carlos Reveco. Perez went inactive for the next 10 months and did not return to the ring until April this year, when he stopped Michael Arango, a favorite whipping boy in the flyweight class, in 8 rounds.
Melindo predictably got off to a flawless start, nearly flooring Perez with a vicious left early in the opening round. Perez was able to regain equal footing, but he was on spaghetti legs again in the second round as Melindo continued to land sizzling hooks to the head and debilitating body punches.
The complexion of the fight however changed in the third stanza, when Perez got on his bicycle and started flicking his elongated left jab. Offering very little head movement, Melindo found himself repeatedly getting tagged by the jab. It was as if Perez?s left glove was made of magnet and Melindo had a metal halo around his head.
Encouraged by his unexpected success, Perez kept the jab up in the succeeding rounds. Melindo was still landing power shots, but his combinations began to dwindle as he found it difficult to cope with Perez?s jab and lateral movement.
Perez opened a cut on Melindo?s left eye in the eighth and the Filipino all the more became hesitant to work his way inside. When the smoke of battle cleared, Melindo did not have the look of a sure winner. Fortunately, all three Filipino judges still found Melindo the winner by majority decision. Judge Salven Lagumbay called it a draw at 114-114 while Judges Edward Ligas and Tony Pesons both had Melindo the winner with scores of 116-112 and 114-113, respectively.
As can be deduced, Melindo barely kept his unbeaten record (28-0, 11 knockouts) against Perez. From where this writer sits, the 114-114 score of Lagumbay is acceptable. Melindo did not deserve to win the fight, but he also did not deserve to lose it. Melindo landed the heavier blows and did much of the pursuing. On the other hand, Perez opted to play it safe by staying on his bicycle and throwing blows that were only meant to score points and not inflict serious damage.
?Ang una ko pong natutunan sa laban na ito ay never give up [the first thing I learned from this fight is to never give up],? Melindo told this writer in a post-fight interview. ?At sa natutunan ko sa laban na ito, hindi na po talaga ako magku-kumpyansa kahit na gaano katanda o kabata ang kalaban [And from what I learned in this fight, I will never be over- confident whether my opponent is old or young].?
Melindo, 24, is in line for a shot at the WBO flyweight title currently held by countryman Brian Viloria. Viloria is set to fight WBA counterpart Hernan ?Tyson? Marquez of Mexico in a unification showdown on November 17. If Viloria pulls through, he will have to defend the unified WBO-IBF crown against Melindo.
Owing to his vast experience, Viloria figures to be the favorite against Melindo. Then again, if Melindo addresses the complacency issue and works on plugging the holes in his arsenal, boxing fans should be in for a fistic treat when the two square off in a rare title bout involving two Filipino boxers.
