By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

WHAT WAS a solid year for Filipino world boxing champion Milan “El Metodico” Melindo did not have the corresponding ending he was looking for as he absorbed a unanimous decision loss on the final day of 2017, and in the process surrendered his International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior flyweight title.

Fighting in a unification bout against World Boxing Association (WBA) world junior flyweight champion Ryoichi Taguchi in Tokyo, Japan, on Sunday, Cagayan de Oro native Melindo found the going tough as the fight progressed and eventually saw his title slip from his hands as all three judges went with the hometown bet, 117-111, 117-111 and 116-112, when all was said and done.

The defeat was an about-face to how Mr. Melindo started 2017 also in Japan where he claimed the IBF junior flyweight belt by way of an impressive first-round technical knockout of Japanese Akira Yaegashi in May.

He then followed it up by successfully defending the crown here in the country against South African Hekkie Budler by split decision in September before setting forth to make his defense against Mr. Taguchi.

“The Year 2017 has been memorable so far for me as I was able to capture the IBF light flyweight belt and after that successfully defended it. Now my aim is to unify it with the WBA title currently held by Taguchi,” Mr. Melindo said in an online correspondence with BusinessWorld in the run-up to last Sunday’s fight.

Mr. Melindo as expected started out aggressively, taking the fight to his opponent to establish early control.

But Mr. Taguchi would prove himself up to the challenge and aggressiveness of the Filipino fighter, making full use of his length advantage, connecting with solid combinations that flustered Mr. Melindo.

Notwithstanding the cuts he sustained in the fight, Mr. Melindo continued to slug it out and make a go for the win but Mr. Taguchi was not to relent and hung tough in the championship rounds to secure the title unification in front of the hometown crowd.

The win improved Mr. Taguchi to 27 wins with two losses and two draws while Mr. Melindo dropped to 37-3.

NO BOWING OF HEAD
For local combat sports writer and observer Mike Miguel, Mr. Melindo has no reason to bow his head despite the loss as he gave all that he got and fought with so much pride.

“Milan’s camp had the right thing in mind going into the fight which was to utilize the jab against the taller opponent. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to sustain it the entire fight. Making things worse were the cuts he sustained above his eye that bothered him as the fight progressed. Taguchi capitalized on those openings and took those rounds from Milan,” said Mr. Miguel of RealFight.ph when asked for his post-fight thoughts.

“I’m not surprised with how both fighters performed because they put up a very competitive fight. Both gave their all and they showed that neither of them would give in easily,” he added.

Mr. Miguel went to say that it was a disappointing loss for Mr. Melindo but was quick to point out that definitely it is not the end of his career and he can only be expected to rise up again.

“Is this a disappointing loss for Milan? Of course it is. But I expect him to come back better after this. He has been challenged all his career before becoming a world champion so I expect him to be hungrier than ever once he heals up,” Mr. Miguel said.

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