MELINDO DEEP IN TRAINING IN LA FOR HIS TITLE FIGHT AGAINST JAVIER MENDOZA; FIGHT POSTPONED TO MAY 30 IN ANOTHER VENUE IN MEXICO
By Dong Secuya
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 23 Apr 2015
LOS ANGELES ? Filipino contender Milan '?l Metodico' Melindo is currently in deep training in Los Angeles in preparation for his title fight against IBF light flyweight champion Javier 'Cobra' Mendoza of Mexico. However, the original May 9 date was pushed back to May 30 due to the conflict of TV broadcasting by TV Azteca, the Mexican TV outfit which was also set to broadcast the bigger Canelo Alvarez vs James Kirkland 12-round super welterweight bout scheduled in Houston, Texas on May 9. Additionally, the original venue of the Mendoza-Melindo tussle at Auditorio Municipal Fausto Gutierrez Moreno in Tijuana has also been changed to Otomi in Temoaya, a Mexican town 85 kilometers northwest of Mexico City.
?Looks like we're going to stay here a bit longer,? Edito Villamor, Melindo's trainer, told Philboxing Wednesday morning as he watched his ward do eight rounds of sparring at Roach's Wildcard Gym in Hollywood. Melindo, Villamor and assistant trainer Alex Consigna have been staying in Los Angeles for almost a month now after the trio left Manila right after the Nietes-Parra fight on March 28. ?But no worries, because Melindo is in superb condition and is highly motivated,? Villamor said.
Melindo hits the speed ball Wednesday at the Wildcard Gym in Hollywood.
Melindo spars with Carlos Licona.
Melindo spars with the much bigger Ryota Kihara.
Melindo (C) with trainer Edito Villamor (R) and assistant trainer Alex Cosigna (L).
Photos by Dong Secuya.
Melindo (32-1-0, 12KO), who failed in his first bid for a world title against Mexican elite Juan Francisco Estrada, is on paper the more experienced fighter and faced better opponents compared to Mendoza (23-2-1, 19KO) whose only bragging right was his victory against the declining former world champion Ramon Garcia Hirales when they fought for the vacant IBF flyweight title in September last year.
?But I'm not over-confident,? Melindo said, perhaps drawing lessons from his loss to Estrada where he came in short of bragging that the title was already in the bag going into the fight. ?I was too confident on that fight. Sometimes too much confidence is good and sometimes it's not,? Melindo said.
Mendoza is a pressure fighter with a strong left hand that shows on his record of 19 knockouts in 23 victories, a style, that according to Melindo is more suited to his counter-punching style. ?I like this fight because if my opponent keeps running away from me, I will be forced to take the offensive stance to make the fight exciting otherwise the audience will get bored. But if my opponent comes to me, that's what I like because I can then throw my combinations,? Melindo said.
Melindo has already logged in more than 50 rounds of sparring in their more than three weeks of stay here to anyone who is close to Melindo's size, a practice that according to Villamor, gets out the best of Melindo. Today, Melindo sparred with junior flyweight Mexican Carlos Licona for five rounds and with Japanese bantamweight Ryota Kihara for three rounds.
?When we spar in the Philippines, sometimes our boxers get complacent because they are sparring with boxers they already knew for a long time,? Villamor said. ?But here every time Milan faces a new sparring partner, it always gets the best out of him, and it improves him a lot.?
Augurs well for Melindo with more tough fights ahead of him.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Dong Secuya.
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