Melindo eager to win his biggest fight

INTERNATIONAL Boxing Federation (IBF) light flyweight champion Milan Melindo and his team arrived in Japan Tuesday, ahead of his New Year’s Eve unification bout with World Boxing Association (WBA) light flyweight king Ryoichi Taguchi.

Melindo is eager to prove he’s one of the division’s finest by beating another Japanese star in his own backyard.

“It’s amazing how he’s (Melindo) improved. You can see he’s pouring out everything he has to make his dreams come true,” ALA Gym head trainer Edito Villamor said in a statement.

Melindo won the biggest fight of his career, incidentally also in Japan, after he knocked out in just a single round and dethroned Japanese star Akira Yaegashi seven months ago.

“We’re focusing right now on his mental readiness, reviewing our game plan again and again, so he won’t forget what we’ve trained for in the past months,” said Villamor, who’ll be in Melindo’s corner along with his brother

Edmund Villamor and Michael Domingo.

The 29-year-old Melindo told SunStar Cebu he’s good to go for his fight this Sunday at the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan.

“I’m ready. The weather is okay, my weight is okay,” he said.

Meanwhile, another Japanese world champion will be watching closely the Melindo-Taguchi unification bout.

World Boxing Council (WBC) light flyweight king Ken Shiro hopes to land another unification with the winner.

“Of course, I would like to face the winner. But first I have to win my upcoming fight so now I solely concentrate on this challenge,” Shiro said in a report posted at Boxingscene.com.

Shiro is defending his belt against Gilberto Pedroza a day before the Melindo and Taguchi fight. Sun.Star Cebu