Cebu City, Philippines – Recently crowned WBO Interncontinental flyweight champion Milan “Method Man” Melindo (25-0, 9 KOs) almost did good on his promise to knock Francisco “Chiquita” Rosas (22-9-2, 13 KOs) out. But the game Mexican proved to be a tough foe who took Melindo’s best punches. However, a stoppage was declared before the beginning of the 11th round when Rosas, who suffered a broken nose during the third inning, was deemed unfit to fight by referee Bruce McTavish.
Is a world title shot next for Milan Melindo (left)?
Melindo was every inch his nickname, peppering Rosas with hard shots, clean hooks and uppercuts while utilizing his superior rings skills. The Method Man was methodical with his attacks, almost landing at will even.
But despite his precision and the high punch output, Milan failed to register a knockdown as Rosas simply took whatever Melindo dished out. The Mexican held his own as well, nailing the Filipino with solid hooks and straights and even engaged Melindo in several punch exchanges in the earlier rounds, though his retaliation rate constantly waned as the fight progressed.
ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer said that Rosas’ weight advantage prevented him from going to the canvas. The Mexican came in at 117 pounds during the initial way in, way over the 112 flyweight limit. Hours after a trip to the sauna, Rosas came back and registered at 113.5 pounds. Because of the weight advantage, Rosas was forced to use heavier, 10-oz gloves instead of the standard ones (8-oz).
“If Rosas came in at the exact weight, Milan would have knocked him out,” Aldeguer told the ringside press after the match. “The ploy reminds me of the Donaire-Concepcion match, where the Panamanian (Rafael Concepcion) weighed way above the limit and Donaire (Nonito Jr.) failed to knock him out.”
“We will work hard to get Milan a title shot for his next fight, but it’s hard if you are not the mandatory challenger.
“Milan’s reputation as a force in his division is growing and that will also make it difficult for us to secure a title bout, but we will try to get one. Probably if that fight won’t materialize, Milan will figure in a title eliminator instead.”
Back to the drawing board
Philippines’ Jason Pagara (27-2, 16 KOs) suffered a huge setback as Rosbel “Little Wolf” Montoya (35-4-1, 29 KOs) derailed the Filipino’s 15-fight winning streak. The Mexican power puncher proved to be a very hard obstacle for the young Filipino as Montoya’s power and accurate shots significantly downplayed any advantages held by Pagara.
Montoya’s body defense was impressive, blocking most of Pagara’s body blows. The Mexican’s jab was very effective as well, occasionally snapping Pagara’s head back and stopping the Filipino in his tracks. Montoya displayed composure and a high maturity level, letting Pagara come in and bang away only to nail the Filipino with solid counterpunches, uppercuts and hooks.
The Mexican’s timidity belied his ring superiority over the Filipino. Overall, Pagara was visibly the more aggressive and busier fighter. However, Montoya landed the cleaner, more effective, and harder shots. Montoya received all the judges’ nods, earning him the well-deserved unanimous decision victory.
“Pagara needs to take a step back and learn from the loss,” Aldeguer said. “This fight was a big test for him to see if he is ready for the big fights. Obviously, he needs to develop still.”
“I take nothing away from Montoya. People arranging the fight really asked us ‘are you sure your boy wants to fight Montoya?’ and obviously, they have their reasons.”
The Beginning of Genesis
Genesis “Azucal” Servania (15-0, 5 KOs) youth and hunger prevailed over the veteran Gerson Guerrero (34-9, 26 KOs), who never took the initiative and was always on the defensive. Servania’s pressure fighting was very effective, often getting the Mexican against the ropes and in the corner.
Photo credits: PhilBoxing.com
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Kenneth P. Ragpala is an award-winning sports blogger who has been covering the sport of boxing since 2008. His works have appeared in local newspapers in his home city in Cagayan de Oro and in several online publications abroad.
Ragpala has written for several boxing websites, namely Fight Hype, 8 Count News, and Bleacher Report.
ALA RUSHED UP THINGS FOR PAGARA WHO NEEDS MORE TRAINING AND DEVELOP HIS STAMINA NEEDED TO FACE THE LIKES OF MONTOYA. ALA SHOULD ALSO DEVELOP THE SPEED, DEFENSE WHICH OBVIOUSLY LACKING AND SHOWED BY JASON DURING THE FIGHT. ALA SHOULD ALSO TEACH THIS YOUNG FIGHTER HOW TO THROW RAPID POWERFUL THREE OR FOUR OR MORE COMBINATIONS IN SUCCESSION….
So three top Filipino prospects were matched with three Mexican journeyman and Pagara actually ends up losing to Montoya? lol Btw, Montoya’s record is listed as 13-2-1 (not 35-4-1 as the articles states). Pagara is obviously not that good.
Ryan, you should check out the previous articles. Montoya admitted there was a lapse in the record and he rectified it prior the fight. It was even announced during the fight that Montoya sports the record stated here in the article. You should read on before you yap your mouth, poser!
So if an obscure fighter with 15 official fights under his belt announces that his real record is 120-4, would you automatically take his word for it as well? Out of Montoya’s confirmed fights, he only has one victory against an opponent with a winning record and his last defeat actually came against an opponent with a losing record. Just last year, he faced an opponent making his professional debut so it’s absurd to believe that he’s been dominating credible opposition in obscurity. Bottom line, Montoya is a journeyman status fighter and if Pagara was outboxed by a fighter of that caliber, he simply doesnt possess the skills to compete with the elites. Enough with the excuses every time a Filipino fighter loses, on that same card, a less experienced Servania defeated journeyman Gerson Guerrero, who has a CONFIRMED record of 36-8 against solid opposition.
A BoxRec editor who was present during the presscon admitted that they do not have the official tally from MExico. So if you are basing your records from BoxRec, they just said they are not the official records site. Poser ka nga, trying hard to be a boxing genius.
I never claimed to be a boxing genius, nor did I object to the possibility that some of his fights aren’t on record. However, if his official tally remains unconfirmed, the Filipino media should not be publishing his record as 35-4-1 as if it were fact. In any event, defeating and losing to an unconfirmed number of opponents in obscurity (most likely with losing records) still does not elevate Montoya to anything beyond a journeyman. People are simply looking to make excuses for Pagara’s poor performance. The president of Ala promotions event went so far as to suggest that “team Mexico” deliberately obscured his record in order to deceive them into taking the fight, which is a ridiculous claim.
Even this article from Philippine Daily Inquirer reflects the same record as the one written in this post.
POSER SI RYAN!
http://sports.inquirer.net/15845/unbeaten-melindo-stops-rosas-in-11th
And that’s exactly the point I was making, these filipino news outlets demonstrate their lack of credibility and objectivity when they publish unreliable information as fact.
He fought the overweight, of course the advantage is his, why not teaching a fighter not getting the weight in time. The fight must be off.
So if an obscure fighter with 15 official fights under his belt announces that his real record is 120-4, would you automatically take his word for it as well? Out of Montoya’s confirmed fights, he only has one victory against an opponent with a winning record and his last defeat actually came against an opponent with a losing record. Just last year, he faced an opponent making his professional debut so it’s absurd to believe that he’s been dominating credible opposition in obscurity. Bottom line, Montoya is a journeyman status fighter and if Pagara was outboxed by a fighter of that caliber, he simply doesnt possess the skills to compete with the elites. Enough with the excuses every time a Filipino fighter loses, on that same card, a less experienced Servania defeated journeyman Gerson Guerrero, who has a CONFIRMED record of 36-8 against solid opposition.
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So sad for American athletes, they have to resort to drugs and cheating to win. The funny part is then, they start accusing other athletes of doping and they have hilariously dysfunctional Mayweather family as the spokesperson for them. Maybe that’s why the Americans don’t have any fighter of significance in the heavyweight division. They only have Mayweather, and they cling on to him like flies to a t_u_r_d. So sad and funny.