KING ARTHUR RULES BY SPLIT DECISION TO CAPTURE VACANT WBC INTERNATIONAL SUPER FLYWEIGHT TITLE
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 29 Nov 2015
King Arthur Villanueva?s promised knockout of Mexican challenger Victor ?Spock? Mendez did not materialize but the ALA Gym fighter did enough to capture the vacant WBC International super flyweight title with a split decision victory over tough Mexican Victor ?Spock? Mendez at the Hoops Dome in Lapu Lapu City on Saturday night.
In a ten round non-title bout two-time world flyweight title challenger Milan Melindo benefited from what seemed like a questionable call when he too won by a split decision over 19 year old Mexican substitute Victor Olivo a late replacement for ?Divino? Fontes who was diagnosed with Dengue and had to be pulled out days before the fight which resulted in the original title showdown being downgraded to a ten round non-title bout.
Melindo struggled all night long against the Mexican youngster who used quick combinations and danced in and out to trouble a heavy-looking and sluggish Melindo who was cut on the bridge of his nose and was bleeding in the final round.
Probably realizing he was behind on points Melindo dug deep in round eight and nine and stormed back with a vengeance to hurt Olivo who somehow weathered the onslaught and came back in the tenth.
Judge Edward Ligas scored the fight for Olivo 96-94 while Richard Olalo and Salven Lagumbay turned in identical 96-94 scorecards for Melindo much to the disappointment of Oliva and his handlers while the crowd gave the Mexican a round of applause for his gutsy showing against the veteran Melindo.
Atty. Ed Tolentino and this commentator who covered the ?Pinoy Pride 34? fight card for the giant broadcast network ABS-CBN both had Olivo the winner 96-94.
http://philboxing.com/news/pix/villanueva.wins.151128.01.500w.jpg
Olivo clearly benefited from sparring with WBO/WBA flyweight champion Juan Franisco Estrada who had beaten Melindo in a title fight in Macau.
While King Arthur also won by a split decision the result was never in doubt although there were questions raised about the scorecard of judge Samson Libres who scored it by a lopsided 117-111 score for Villanueva with the other Filipino judge Benigo Penafiel also scoring it for Villanueva 116-112 while Mexican judge Humberto Olivarez had his countryman the winner 115-113.
Villanueva used a strong overhand and a vicious left hook to hurt Mendez at least three times during the fight but his biggest round was the ninth when he connected with a vicious uppercut and then followed up with a solid right against the durable Mexican.
Libres who is reportedly close to Games and Amusements Board chairman Ramon Guanzon and is also from Bacolod somehow gets the choice assignments in title fights as a referee or judge despite his failure to be fair.
The obvious saving grace of ?Pinoy Pride 34? were the rousing performances of flyweight Kevin Jake ?KJ? Cataraja an outstanding amateur who in only his second pro fight scored a cracking 4th round TKO over Indonesia?s Faris Nenggo who had previously scored a 4th round TKO over former WBO world minimum weight champion Merlito Sabillo when the Filipino southpaw suffered a bad cut on his eyebrow caused by a punch.
Cataraja showed tremendous hand-speed, terrific combinations and was constantly on the move taking some good shots from Nenggo and paving him back with a vengeance.
Cataraja (R) put the pressure on Nenggo.
Jerusalem downs Omayao.
The other outstanding youngster was 21 year old minimum weight Melvin Jerusalem of Bukidnon who improved his unbeaten streak of 7 wins with 6 knockouts with a 2nd round TKO of Crison ?Cowboy? Omayao a veteran of 30 fights and the reigning Philippine champion.
Jerusalem, one of the newest finds from the ALA Gym connected with rapid-fire combinations, demonstrated excellent footwork and head movement and punched with power.
He dropped Omayao with a cracking shot to the solar plexus which saw the RP champion grimace in paid and doble-up as he crashed to the canvas in a stunning upset win by Jerusalem.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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