NEGROS Amateur Boxing Association (Naba) officials, headed by president and Games and Amusement Board (GAB) commissioner Juan Ramon ‘Monju’ Guanzon and treasurer and GAB consultant Vic Tan, hailed the victory of former Naba prodigy Mark Jason Melligen.
Melligen posted an impressive US debut via a fifth-round technical knockout of Gerardo Cesar Prieto of Mexico at the Mile High Center in Denver, Colorado, last Sunday morning.
“We in Naba are so happy with this victory by another former amateur standout from our ranks. Mark Jason Melligen’s victory over his Mexican opponent is another big boost to Naba’s program of discovering and developing boxers from the grassroots who will later turn out to be successful professionals,” Guanzon said.
For his part, Tan said “Melligen’s victory, which comes following the successful title defense of WBO minimumweight champion Donnie Nietes against another Mexican, will surely inspire more aspiring young boxers in our city and province.”
Melligen was among the first from Naba who turned pro under the management and guidance of Cebu-based Negrense international boxing promoter Antonio ‘Bidoy’ Aldeguer of the renowned ALA boxing gym and stable.
Melligen, who hails from Barangay Pahanocoy, Bacolod City, turned pro after settling for a silver medal during the 2005 Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) boxing competition held here at the University of St. La Salle Coliseum.
Melligen dropped his Mexican foe in the third round with a left straight and continued to punish him, forcing him to quit at the end of the fifth round.
The Negrense boxer told Sun.Star Bacolod in a telephone interview Sunday that his opponent was big and a light middleweight who came in at 165 pounds. He said although Prieto hit hard, he was a little slow and he (Melligen) could see his punches coming.
Melligen is slated to return to Cebu Tuesday and then go back to Las Vegas to continue training in preparation for a possible next fight on May 1.
Cebu resident Tony Martin, who handled Melligen’s training in Las Vegas, said he would put the Bacolod pug on a fight card at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas on May 1.
Melligen’s victory over Prieto is considered a confidence booster for the former Naba standout who lived up pre-fight predictions that he would overpower the 30-year old Mexican, who dropped to a 6-6-1 record with no KOs. (HCV)
