Moments ago at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada, Mark Melligen pulled out a hard fought decision win over Anges ?Baby Face? Adjaho. The fight was fast paced and competitive early on before slowing down slightly towards the end of the bout.
Melligen was originally scheduled to face off with Michel Rosales, who defeated him last November at the House of Blues inside the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, but his Mexican opponent withdrew from the contest less than a month away and Adjaho got the call. Instead of a shot at redemption Melligen found himself in with an awkward and talented former contender at 130 and 135 pounds.
Prior to the fight Adjaho announced that he was going to take Melligen into deep waters and proceed to ?beat the s*** out of him?, as he put it. A former sparring partner for Nate Campbell and having been promoted by Don King Productions in the past, Adjaho was no stranger to world class talent on the highest of levels.
The early rounds were nip and tuck as Melligen appeared to take the lead with his work rate alone. The southpaw?s punches didn?t seem to be having a great effect yet there were stiff enough to get the attention of his Benin, West African foe. Adjaho kept his composure and was able to land successfully when he decided to open up.
As the fight pressed forward Adjaho began to pick his spots with more regularity and his right hand seemed to be his meal ticket. For his part, Melligen stayed focused and applied steady and effective pressure, hammering Adjaho with hard punches round after round. The action was back and forth and while the fight was tough it was Melligen who seemed to be slightly busier.
The sixth was Adjaho?s best round as he tagged Melligen at will with right hands and lefts to the body. Adjaho appeared to have the advantage in speed and his unorthodox style seemed to be quite the puzzle for Melligen to solve. To his credit, the Bacolod City native turned the tide against Adjaho in the seventh and seized control of the fight.
The action in the closing rounds was slow yet tight and the two men took turns trading punches as well as waives of momentum. The tenth was the dullest of the fight and Adjaho didn?t seem to fight with the urgency that was needed to pull out the win. Scores of 99-91, 98-92, and 97-93 were read in Melligen?s favor in what certainly was a solid scrap.
With the win Melligen moves to 19-2 with 13 knockouts. Such opponents as Jesus Soto Karass, Alfonso Gomez, and even Andre Berto have all been in the rumor mill and it will be interesting seeing how things unfold for him. Adjaho falls to 25-3 with 14 stoppages but gave a good account of himself and would serve himself well by returning to 135 pounds.
