Melindo, Yaegashi make weight for IBF junior fly title fight

MANILA, Philippines – We’ve got a fight.

Both IBF junior flyweight champion Akira Yaegashi and interim titleholder Milan Melindo weighed in half a pound under the 108-pound weight limit at 107.5 pounds on Saturday, May 20, a day ahead of their showdown at the Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo, Japan.

The 12-round scheduled fight will be the third title attempt for Melindo (35-2, 12 knockouts), following losses to unified flyweight champ Juan Francisco Estrada and then-IBF junior flyweight titleholder Javier Mendoza in 2013 and 2015, respectively.

The 29-year-old Cagayan de Oro native Melindo won the interim title in his last fight against Teeraphong Utaida in November.

Yaegashi (25-5, 13 KOs), a 3-division champion, defeated Mendoza in December 2015 to win the title but has shown wear and tear in recent fights, missing time last year due to a rotator cuff injury sustained in a tougher-than-expected fight against Jose Martin Tecuapetla. Yaegashi is 5 years older than Melindo at 34. (READ: Milan Melindo wants to erase past shortfalls with title win)

Aside from age, the medical examiner in Japan also measured other stats, noting that Yaegashi had a slight height advantage, measuring 159.5 centimeters (5’2″) compared to Melindo’s 157.5 centimeters (5’1″). Melindo, however, was the wider of the two, measuring 166 centimeters in reach compared to Yaegashi’s 164.5 centimeters.

The fight will not be shown in the Philippines on same day-delay as previously announced by ALA Promotions, Melindo’s Cebu-based promoter.

Now the fight “might be aired” on ABS-CBN Sports+Action “two weeks after May 21st or earlier,” according a statement released on the eve of the fight, citing only “technical issues.”

“It’s the only advice we got from ABS-CBN, but they assured [us] it will be aired on TV only on a later date as opposed to the earlier advised schedule,” said an ALA spokesperson in an email when asked for additional comment about the broadcast. – Rappler.com