MILAN Melindo fulfilled his promise of knocking out Mexican Francisco Rosas as he forced him to quit on his stool at the start of the 11th round to capture the vacant World Boxing Organization Inter-Continental flyweight crown in the main event of ?Pinoy Pride 8 ? Philippines vs. Mexico? last Saturday night at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino in Cebu City.
After absorbing a ton of punishment from the fiery fists of Melindo for half an hour, the 31-year-old captain of Team Mexico seemed to have had enough and was hesitant on continuing in the 11th round, forcing referee Bruce McTavish to stop the 12-round title bout.
Melindo, 23, dissected the heavier Rosas? defense with his pinpoint accuracy and speed. After sizing up his opponent in the first round, Melindo started to mix it up in the second round and landed some combinations to the head and body.
Melindo rocked Rosas with a counter left hook then tried to end the fight with a barrage of combinations in the fourth. The Mexican survived but went to his corner with a bloody nose and a cut on the left eye.
?Milan has always shown improvement every time he fights. If Rosas wasn?t overweight he might have gone down. He would have knocked out Rosas,? said an impressed ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer.
Melindo fearlessly continued to stalk and brutalized the slower Rosas with an array of vicious uppercuts, powerful body shots and precise jabs before a bloodied Rosas decided that he had had enough punishment.
Aldeguer said that Melindo is a step closer at a crack for a world title shot.
?We really want to get a title shot but because of Milan?s reputation, he needs to be a mandatory opponent or we have to give a big purse for a champion to come here. A neutral ground like Las Vegas could also be possible. We?ll try to work on it,? said the young promoter.
Meanwhile, Rosbel Montoya gave the Mexicans their only win of the night after a surprise unanimous decision win over 19-year-old sensation Jason Pagara.
Montoya, 26, took advantage of his longer reach and consistently landed with his heavy hands. Pagara was impressive with his quick combinations but Montoya was consistent with his punches all night long.
The scorecards read 96-94, 99-91, and, 97-93, in favor of the Mexican.
The WBO Youth Asia-Pacific crown was declared vacant because Montoya tipped the scales overweight at 141 pounds for the fight.
Montoya upped his record to 35-4-1 with 29 knockouts, while Pagara slumped to 27-2 with 16 knockouts.
Youth triumphed over experience as Genesis Servania (15-0, 5 KOs) gave veteran former world title contender Gerson Guerrero (37-9, 29 KOs) a boxing clinic.
After a one-sided eight-round boxing match, Servania won, 79-73, 78-74, and, 80-72.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on September 12, 2011.
