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MANILA, Philippines – Milan Melindo’s dream of becoming a world champion has finally come true.
The 29-year-old from Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines made good in his third attempt at a world title, dropping Akira Yaegashi 3 times in the first round to win the IBF junior flyweight title Sunday, May 21, at the Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo, Japan. The time of stoppage was 2:45 of the first round.
Melindo (36-2, 13 knockouts) is now the fourth current world champion from the Philippines, joining Donnie Nietes, Manny Pacquiao and Jerwin Ancajas. He’s the third ever world champion from the ALA Boxing stable, after Nietes and Merlito Sabillo.
Melindo had told Rappler of his intense training leading up to the fight, which included sparring 22 consecutive rounds on one day to build up his stamina. Melindo had fallen short in two previous attempts at a world title, losing decisions to Juan Francisco Estrada and Javier Mendoza for the unified flyweight title and IBF junior flyweight title in 2013 and 2015, respectively.
Yaegashi, a former 3-division champion, drops to 25-6 (13 KOs) with the loss. It is just the third time that Yaegashi had been stopped, after Roman Gonzalez and Pedro Guevara did the job in 2014 in back-to-back fights. – Rappler.com
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