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Philippines, 20 Feb 2026 |
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BUDLER HITS TOWN; CONFIDENT OF BRINGING BACK HOME MELINDO'S IBF BELT (PHOTOS) By Dong Secuya PhilBoxing.com Thu, 07 Sep 2017  CEBU CITY ? IBO world light flyweight champion Hekkie 'The Hexecutioner' Budler of South Africa hit town Wednesday accompanied by his trainer Colin Nathan ahead of his world title fight against local boy and defending IBF light flyweight champion Milan 'El Metodico' Melindo headlining the Pinoy Pride 42 card on September 16 at the Waterfront Hotel & Casino here. Budler and Nathan faced the Cebu media Thursday morning at the Radisson Hotel, still jet lagged after more than 30 hours of air travel and waking up to what corresponds to early dawn in Johannesburg. ?Obviously we are still jet lagged,? Nathan told the press as an introduction. ?That's why we came here early to acclimatize. But make no mistake about it. We are not here on a holiday. We have researched, studied and prepared well for our fight against Melindo on Sep. 16 and we are confident of beating Melindo and bringing back the IBF belt to South Africa.? Budler meanwhile expects a great fight with Melindo and praises Filipino boxers in general for their guts. Budler has so far faced six Filipino boxers including former world champion Florante Condes, beating all of them. ?Filipino boxers, even if they have 10 loses, you have to be at your best because they always come to fight,? Budler said who had two very close fights against Juanito Rubillar for the IBO world light flyweight championship. Rubillar had already 14 loses when he first met Budler in 2010.  IBO world champion Hekkie Budler speaks to the Cebu media Thrusday.  Budler and his trainer Colin Nathan pose during Thursday's presscon. ?It is an honor fighting in the Philippines. We've been looking forward to fighting here. I expect a great fight against Melindo. I predict to win and bring the belt back home,? Budler said who refused to predict a knockout, only saying that ?one punch can change the course of the fight.? Nathan also said that they would have fought for a unification fight with Budler's IBO belt also on the line but ALA Promotions, Melindo's promoter, was only interested to fight for the IBF belt. Both Budler and Nathan were profuse in their praise on how they were welcomed and well-treated by their host. ?We are nicely treated. The Filipino people are great. I love the place and I can live here,? Budler said. Budler is scheduled to have a public workout at the Ayala Center mall on Saturday, Sep. 9. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Dong Secuya.  |
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