PINOY Pride 42 was a great night for local boxing, one which saw a champion defend his belt in a glorious give-and- take affair, another champion get taken down from his lofty perch and one would-be champion exposed for all his limitations.
MILAN. His opponent Hekkie Budler vowed that he didn?t come all the way from South Africa only to lose.
Initially there was some concern about Milan Melindo coming in a tad over, during his first try at the weigh-in. There was apprehension that he might have over-exerted himself trying to make weight and would be drained come fight time.
However as the bell rang, Milan was sharp, and full of blazing energy.
The first few rounds were a blur as both fighters wasted no time in unloading. Budler started coming in, firing away on all cylinders while Milan countered and scored with stinging jabs and hooks.
This was an incredibly fast paced fight and it seemed like the fighter who would ran out of gas would be on the losing end. Incredibly, both of them sustained that frenetic pace and finished strong.
The first few rounds were difficult to score but by the middle rounds, Milan started to land cleanly. Budler came back strong in rounds 6-10 but in the championship rounds, “El Metodico” wobbled Budler with hooks and uppercuts.
The only cause for worry were the facial cuts that were repeatedly examined by the physician in-between rounds, but Milan was scored a huge knockdown in the final round which sealed the deal for him.
That was a fantastic first defense of his title for Milan, one which satisfied his fans and showcased his resiliency and courage.
CASIMERO. ?Quadro Alas? got the shock of his life when he was upset by up and coming Jonas Sultan in a nip-and -tuck affair.
Johnreil Casimero is a two time world champion and his mettle as a world class fighter is beyond question. Rightfully, he was the favorite coming in to this fight.
However, Sultan (14-3, 9 KOs) proved that his victories over former world champion Sonny Boy Jaro and Makazole Tete were no flukes and took the fight early to Casimero.
I don?t know what Casimero was trying to prove when he opted not become active in the first part of the fight which resulted in Sultan winning the early rounds.
It didn?t help matters that he repeatedly had his left hand down allowing Sultan to score repeatedly with right hands.
Casimero came back strong in the second half and landed some brutal right hands. The power in those fists took down the likes of Luis Alberto Lazate and Amnat Ruenroeng and perhaps he was banking on his prodigious fists to bail him out of trouble.
Problem was Sultan had an iron chin and was not going anywhere. In the end, though it was a close fight, Sultan rightfully edged it and this is a painful learning experience for Casimero who already had his sights set on big money fights abroad owing to his championship pedigree.
PAGARA.This was one of the most entertaining fights of the night. Problem was Jason Pagara (40-2, 25KOs) wasn’t supposed to be engaging in a life and death struggle with James Onyango (23-11 ,19 KOs) who was only a last-minute replacement.
Pagara dominated the first few rounds but he looked out of shape and the visiting Kenyan came back strong in the second half of the fight.
Pagara was lucky to have scored two knockdowns as this provided a point cushion for him considering that he lost majority of the rounds.
LAST ROUND. It’s on little cherub Ellie Lumongsod who recently turned a year old. Cheers!
