MELINDO TO CHALLENGE YAEGASHI'S IBF JUNIOR FLYWEIGHT TITLE
By Dong Secuya
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 09 Jul 2016
SAN FRANCISCO ? Is the third time a charm for Milan Melindo?
That question will be answered when 'El Metodico', as Melindo is known because of his highly developed technical skill, will challenge IBF junior flyweight world champion Akira Yaegashi of Japan upon the order of the IBF. Melindo has previously twice failed to win a world title against Juan Francisco Estrada of Mexico on July 27, 2013 in Macau and against Javier Mendoza of Mexico on May 30, 2015 in Mexico.
ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer had earlier sent a letter to the IBF requesting the world boxing body to put Melindo as Yaegashi's mandatory challenger after former world champion Javier Mendoza backed out from his title eliminator fight with Melindo originally scheduled last May 28 in Bacolod City on Pinoy Pride 36.
Today, Aldeguer received a response from the IBF approving his request and at the same time ordering Aldeguer and Yaegashi's manager Hideyuki Ohashi to immediately begin negotiation for the Yaegashi-Melindo title fight giving Aug. 8 next month as the deadline, after which if no agreement has been reached, the fight will go to a purse bid.
?We have a [Pinoy Pride] date in November,? Aldeguer said. I'll try to offer Yaegashi's camp to put the fight on that date but if they refuse, we are willing to go to Japan.?
Knowing how Japanese fighters seldom go out of their country to fight for a world title, specially defending one, the Yaegashi-Melindo fight will most likely be held in Yaegashi's territory.
Yeagashi (24-5-0, 12KO) who is rated No. 4 by Ring, won his first world title against Thailand's Pornsawan Porpramook on Oct. 24, 2011 for the WBA minimumweight diadem but lost it against compatriot Kazuto Ioka a year later in their WBC/WBA unification bout. He moved two divisions up to flyweight and captured the WBC flyweight world title after defeating compatriot Toshiyuki Igarashi on April 8, 2013 and successfully defended it three times before losing to Nicaraguan great Roman Gonzalez on Sep. 5, 2014. Yaegashi then moved down to junior flyweight and grabbed Javier Mendoza's IBF title on Dec. 29, 2015 six months after Mendoza defeated Melindo for the same belt.
Since the defeat to Mendoza, Melindo (34-2-0, 12KO) rated No. 6 by the IBF and No. 6 by Ring, has won his last two fights against Victor Emanuel Olivo of Mexico on Nov. 28, 2015 in Lapu-lapu City and against Maximino Flores, also of Mexico, on May 28, 2016 in Bacolod City.
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