WEIGHTS FROM TOKYO: MELINDO - 107.5 LBS, TAGUCHI - 107.75 LBS (PHOTOS)
By Dong Secuya
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 30 Dec 2017
IBF world light flyweight champion Milan Melindo of the Philippines stepped the scales at 107.5 lbs while WBA world light flyweight champion Ryoichi Taguchi of Japan came in at 107.75 lbs during their official weighin in Tokyo Saturday afternoon. Melindo and Taguchi will fight Sunday night at the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo to unify their IBF and WBA belts and lineal Ring Magazine championship belt.
Melindo (37-2-0, 13KOs) from Cagayan de Oro City, captured the Interim IBF world light flyweight title on Nov. 26, 2016 in Cebu City by defeating Thailand's Teeraphong Utaida by unanimous decision. He then captured the regular IBF world light flyweight title by a stunning first round stoppage over the favored and long time champion Akira Yaegashi of Japan on May 21, 2017 at the Arriake Coliseum in Tokyo. Melindo, 29, successfully defended his belt against IBO world champion Hekkie Budler of South Africa last September in Cebu City.
Photos by Sumio Yamada.
Milan Melindo of the Philippines weighs in Friday in Tokyo.
Local boy Ryoichi Taguchi poses during Friday's weighin in Tokyo.
Tokyo-born Taguchi (26-2-2, 12KOs), 31, who has fought eight of his last nine fights at the Ota-City Gymnasium, captured the WBA world light flyweight title on Dec. 31, 2014 by defeating then Interim WBA flyweight champion Alberto Russel of Peru. He has successfully defended it six times since, the last one over Robert Barrera of Columbia via 9th round stoppage.
The winner of Ring No. 1 ranked Taguchi and No. 2 ranked Melindo is expected to be hailed as one of the elites in the lower weight division and will be in the mix as the world's top 10 pound for pound fighters.
All set for Sunday's triple world title fight in Tokyo, Japan (L-R): Toshiyuki Igarashi, Sho Kimura, Ryoichi Taguchi, Milan Melindo, Hiroto Kyoguchi and Carlos Buitrago.
In the other weighin results:
Sho Kimura (15-1-2, 8KOs) of Kimagaya Japan who will defend his WBO world flyweight title, weighed in at the division limit of 112 lbs while his challenger Toshiyuki Igarashi (23-2-3, 12KOs) of Akita, Japan, also came in at 112 lbs.
IBF world minimumweight champion Hiroto Kyoguchi (8-0-0, 6KOs) of Osaka Japan came in at 105 lbs while his challenger Carlos Buitrago (30-2-1, 17KOs) of Nicaragua stepped the scales at 104 lbs.
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