IBF ORDERS MELINDO-BUDLER REMATCH, ALDEGUER SAYS MILAN CLEARLY WON THE FIGHT AND WILL APPEAL
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 21 Oct 2017
IBF junior flyweight champion Milan Melindo and challenger Hekkie Budler has been ordered by the International Boxing Federation to schedule an immediate rematch. As reported by Ryan Songalia of Rappler, the disputed action by Melindo?s cornermen during their September 16 fight was the reason. In his first title defense in Cebu City, Melindo won by a split decision as favored by two judges with scores of 115-112 and 117-110, while the third was 115-113 for Budler.
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IBF president Daryl J. Peoples sent a letter dated October 16, where the IBF acted on some concerns raised by Budler's trainer and manager Colin Nathan. The IBF addressed the complaint regarding head trainer Edito Villamor, who was allowed by referee Wes Melton to apply a coagulant on Melindo during a timeout in between the eleventh and twelfth rounds after the ringside physician looked at the bleeding cut above Melindo?s right eye which was opened by a punch in the tenth round.
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A cornerman is only allowed to cure a cut during the one minute interval between rounds, and not during a referee's timeout. The IBF cited a rule from the Games and Amusements Board about a ringside doctor examination, which states that ?The referee will then assure that the boxer?s corner does not interfere with the examination?? A video tape was reviewed by the IBF, and it was the referee, not the doctor, who is heard telling Villamor ?You can patch it," referring to Melindo's cut.
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?I am still in shock,? ALA Promotions President Michael Aldeguer told SunStar Cebu. ?We will go over this and will surely make an appeal to the IBF.? Aldeguer said. ?We need to appeal the decision as Milan already won that fight clearly and it was an optional defense and not a mandatory,? Aldeguer added. He is amenable to a rematch if ordered by the IBF. ?Yes, if we feel that it justifies the decision for a rematch but right now, we can?t see it as Milan clearly won the fight."
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"If it?s because of the corner?s concern, which was allowed by the referee, then why penalize the fighter for winning the fight clearly on his own merit? The Budler fight was an optional defense and not mandatory. We have to review everything and see what?s out there for the best interest of Milan,? Aldeguer stated. He added the matters concerning the letter is something to be discussed. ?We are now focused on the letter from the IBF and will see what?s the best direction to take.?
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The IBF dismissed the claim by Nathan that the referee was at fault in ruling a knockdown for Melindo in the 12th round and the complaint on the 117-110 score by judge Takeo Harada ?was biased toward the Asian Champion.? The IBF letter rules that video shows that ?it appeared that Budler was struck by a punch albeit not a solid one before falling to the canvas." On the scorecard, the letter says that "the judging of professional boxing events is subjective."
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Budler had a lot of complaints right after the Melindo fight. ?Does this look like a boxer who won his fight? I thought I had won the fight, plain and simple,? said Budler. ?I expected him to hit harder, he didn't hit as hard as I thought he would but I still thought I won. I landed more and I worked him extremely well.? He thought the judges got this one completely wrong. ?Even if you count the knockdown in the last round, I still felt I won that round and I felt I won more of the rounds in any case.?
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Melindo answered back he is willing to fly all the way to South Africa to face Budler in a rematch. ?To stop this nonsense, let them promote the rematch in South Africa and put Budler?s IBO title at stake, let?s see if he can beat me in our rematch because I knew that I won fair and square in that fight,? Melindo said. ?I won the fight even with two deep cuts in both my eyebrows. Imagine if I did not had these cuts, I could have knocked him out or won the fight dominantly,? added Melindo.
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Budler?s manager Rodney Berman at Golden Gloves in Twitter called the result a ?blatant robbery," the officiating ?pathetic," and the judging ?a disgrace.? His camp does not want the rematch to be held in the Philippines. ?If they offer me a resmatch in South Africa, I have to knock him out to prevent a hometown decision because they will do everything to avenge his loss. I already know his style, I already beat him and I am confident that I can beat him again," Melindo replied.
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Even if the fight with Conor McGregor earned him a net of more than $100 million, the lure of a huge pay to return once again could prove too much for Floyd Mayweather Jr. His Twitter account on Thursday posted that the 40-year-old undefeated former pound-for-pound king hints a comeback with two videos of him in the gym working on a punching bag. His moves show he can still wreck an opponent with flashes from his old form.
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JJ Lawrence posted that "if the money was right, he'll fight anyone", while Lolo Mazuelos added that Mayweather versus Gennady Golovkin would be "the dream fight". Others asked Mayweather "who's next," while a rematch against McGregor is the wish of many fans. Mat Rasmussen wrote "rematch in the MMA...name one person who won't buy it." Right after his win against McGregor, Floyd declared: "This was my last fight tonight ladies and gentlemen."
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The phrase ?pound for pound? was invented for Sugar Ray Robinson to start comparing boxers irrespective of their weight class. Robinson was 85?0 as an amateur with 69 of those wins by knockout, and 40 were in the first round. He turned professional in 1940 at the age of 19 and by 1951 had a professional record of 128?1?2 with 84 knockouts. From 1943 to 1951 Robinson went on a 91 fight unbeaten streak, the third longest in professional boxing history.
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Robinson held the world welterweight title from 1946 to 1951, and won the world middleweight title in the latter year. He retired in 1952, only to come back two and a half years later to regain the middleweight title in 1955. He then became the first boxer in history to win a divisional world championship five times. Robinson was named "fighter of the year" twice, first for his performances in 1942, then nine years and over 90 fights later, for his successes in 1951.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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