LOOKING TO DOMINATE
Milan Melindo looks to dominate over Japanese Akira Yaegashi in tonight’s fight in Japan to be the sole holder of the IBF light flyweight belit
Milan Melindo attempts to grab solo hold of the International Boxing Federation (IBF) light flyweight belt with a dominant performance tonight against Japanese star Akira Yaegashi at the Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo, Japan.
“It will be a good fight. Milan needs to dominate every round,” Melindo's coach Edito Villamor told SunStar Cebu. “Yes, he has a big chance of winning it if he dominates every round like what he did against the Thailander (Fahlan Sakkreerin).”
Melindo isn't gunning for a knockout but rather outclassing Yaegashi every round and beating him in the scorecards.
The judges for the fight are Japanese Takeshi Simakawa, Filipino Danrex Tapdasan and American Bill Lerch.
Melindo vowed to show up as the best version of himself tonight. He has also proven that he won't run out of gas in a 12-round fight after going 22 rounds against seven different sparring partners in training.
The 29-year-old Melindo is the interim IBF light flyweight champion, while Yaegashi is the regular champion. The winner becomes the sole titleholder of the IBF light flyweight belt.
Melindo won the interim version after a unanimous decision over Sakkreerin last November at the Cebu Coliseum. Yaegashi, in the meantime, beat Javier Mendoza by unanimous decision in 2015. He successfully defended it twice, a close split decision to Martin Tecuapetla and a unanimous decision against Wittawas Basapean.
“This is a very important for him for his future. It will be a huge boost to all Filipinos to inspire those who have ambitions of becoming a world champion,” said Villamor.