PINOY Pride 34 was a night of attrition for the featured fighters.
Normally, odds are stacked against the visitors as expectedly, aside from the inherent hometown advantage, matchmaking savvy comes into play.
But last Saturday night at the cavernous Hoops Dome in Lapu-lapu City, both Arthur Villanueva and Milan Melindo were tested to the hilt, and were victorious, but fans left extremely satisfied with most of them marveling at the compelling duke-outs they just witnessed.
MILAN. He was supposed to fight Carlos Fontes but the latter had to back out because he fell prey to dengue fever and so Milan had to ?settle? for last-minute sub Victor Emanuel Olivo who came into the bout with a record of 9-0 with 4 knockouts.
Settle isn?t exactly the appropriate word to describe Milan?s performance in that fight as he proceeded to engage in a mortal struggle with the young upstart.
As his record suggested, Olivo was still a young fighter, but he certainly didn?t perform like a 19 year old novice was expected to.
Much of this probably had to with the fact that he reportedly had a sterling amateur boxing background, or that he was actually listed as a bantamweight and hence, the bigger fighter.
Whatever the case, he was more than a handful for the spunky Melindo.
He started off fast and constantly moved his head and shoulders which didn?t exactly make him an easy target. Milan prefers to counterpunch and so he wasn?t really too active early in the fight, which probably cost him some early rounds.
Milan came alive in the fourth as he opted to become the aggressor and scored with some hard jabs and right hands.
But the younger man took his punches well, and continued to dish out combinations.
The fight was close all throughout but I thought Milan edged it by landing the harder blows.
The split decision verdict was emblematic of the close nature of the proceedings.
While it could have been a disastrous night for the ALA team as Milan?s progress could have been derailed by an upset loss to a virtual unknown, that fight was a valuable learning experience for him as he was able to dig deep and find ways to secure the razor thin victory.
He came away from that battle battered and bruised, but the lessons learned in terms of figuring out styles and employing strategies on the fly will prove to be invaluable as he soldiers on for another world title run.
VILLANUEVA. In the main event, ?King Arthur? also had a difficult time figuring out Victor Mendes but nevertheless gained the nod of the judges also via split decision.
Villanueva won the early rounds behind a superior jab and would occasionally land an eye catching shot that would stun Mendes and elicit a roar from the hometown crowd.
But Villanueva gradually took his foot off the gas pedal, which allowed the taller, heavily tattooed Mexican to gain some traction in the second half of the fight.
Villanueva salvaged the victory by coming on strong again in the championship rounds, and what impressed me was the level of maturity he showed in that fight.
It seems like this young man has learned a lot from his first attempt at a world title against Mcjoe Arroyo early this year.
Though he lost due to a cut , he performed quite well and was in the fight until its premature denouement.
Between Milan and Villanueva, I thought the latter gave a better showing in that night of attrition and I have high hopes yet for ? King Arthur?.
LAST ROUND. It?s on my kumpare, Reyboy Aleonar, who recently celebrated his birthday. Cheers! ([email protected])
