MILAN Melindo may not get his wish of fighting Giovani Segura for now, but he will settle for the next best thing as he faces a hard-hitting former world title contender from Mexico for his upcoming fight next month.
The unbeaten Melindo will headline the 11th installment of the ?Pinoy Pride? series and will defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) inter-continental flyweight crown against Juan Esquer on Jan. 28 at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino in Cebu City.
?Esquer is an experienced fighter who fought some of the best. It will be a great fight as Milan needs to keep up his ranking,? ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer told Sun.Star Cebu.
Esquer has fought some of the best throughout his six-year career. He has fought but lost to the likes of current World Boxing Association (WBA) flyweight champion Hernan Marquez, and former world champions Ivan Calderon, Luis Concepcion, Carlos Tamara and Manuel Marquez. However, he has beaten two-division world titleholder Kermin Guardia and ex-world title challenger Humberto Pool.
Esquer, once a WBO Latino and World Boxing Council (WBC) Latino light flyweight titlist, has a record of 27-9-2 with 21 knockouts. Esquer dropped one of his two fights this year with his loss coming from a disqualification.
Because Brian Viloria retained his WBO flyweight title with an eighth-round technical knockout over Segura last Sunday morning at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City, ALA Promotions isn?t keen on a Filipino-to-Filipino showdown.
