Milan Melindo
Encyclopedia
Milan Melindo is a Filipino
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....

 professional boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

 and current WBC Youth Intercontinental flyweight champion.

His nickname comes from the devastating Typhoon Milenyo
Typhoon Xangsane
The name Xangsane has been used to name two tropical cyclones in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. The name was contributed by Laos and is a Laotian word for elephant.* 2000's Typhoon Xangsane - affected the Philippines and Taiwan....

, a deadly storm that killed over 250 people in the Philippines and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

.

Early life

Milan Melindo was born on February 29, 1988, in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

.

His passion for boxing came from his father, who bought him a pair of boxing gloves. When Melindo was 6 years of age his father trained him and introduced him to the sport of boxing. Growing up, Melindo took boxing as a hobby because it was through this sport he was able to continue his study through a scholarship program. When he graduated from high school, Melindo decided to take boxing seriously to help his family’s financial needs.

Fighting style

Melindo is considered one of the most skillful and promising boxers in the ALA (Antonio Lopez Aldeguer) boxing gym, although somewhat lacking in punching power. In fact, he scored only 8 KO's in 24 wins; most of this KO victories came when he was fighting in the minimumweight division.
Despite the lack of punching power, he makes up for it with his quick combinations and his ability to double-up his patented left hook.

Early years at Minimumweight

Melindo made his professional debut on September 17, 2005, defeating fellow Filipino boxer Meljun Grumo by unanimous decision at the Sports and Cultural Complex in Mandaue City
Mandaue City
The City of Mandaue is a city in the province of Cebu in the Philippines. It is one of the three urbanized cities in the island and forms a part of the Cebu Metropolitan area. Mandaue City is located on the middle eastern coastal region of Cebu, bordering to its right-side are Mactan Island where...

, Cebu
Cebu
Cebu is a province in the Philippines, consisting of Cebu Island and 167 surrounding islands. It is located to the east of Negros, to the west of Leyte and Bohol islands...

, Philippines.

He won his first ever title, the vacant WBO Asia Pacific minimumweight championship, on October 6, 2007, by defeating Pongpan Patanakan Gym of Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

 via technical knockout in the 4th round. The two fought at the Mindanao Polytechnic State College in Cagayan de Oro City
Cagayan de Oro City
Cagayan de Oro; , officially the City of Cagayan de Oro, is the provincial capital city of the province of Misamis Oriental in the Philippines...

, Misamis Oriental
Misamis Oriental
Misamis Oriental is a province of the Philippines located in the Northern Mindanao region. Its capital and provincial center is Cagayan de Oro City...

. The Thai boxer was floored two times in the round and the bout was stopped after a devastating knockout that left him unconscious for several minutes. Melindo defended the title in the next fight against Jack Amisa, whom he defeated by unanimous decision on December 2, 2007.

On March 14, 2009, the Filipino boxer took on Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

's Muhammad Rachman
Muhammad Rachman
Mohammad Rachman Sawaluddin bin Suhaimat , is a professional boxer."The Rock Breaker" won the IBF World Strawweight Championship by a split decision against Daniel Reyes of Colombia...

 at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel in Cebu City
Cebu City
The City of Cebu is the capital city of Cebu and is the second largest city in the Philippines, the second most significant metropolitan centre in the Philippines and known as the oldest settlement established by the Spaniards in the country.The city is located on the eastern shore of Cebu and was...

, Cebu. Melindo kept his unbeaten record going by defeating his veteran opponent via unanimous decision with the scores of 97-93, 98-92, and 96-94.

Light Flyweight

He won the WBA Inter-Continental light flyweight title on July 26, 2008, by defeating Carlos Melo
Carlos Melo
Carlos Bolívar Melo is a Panamanian professional boxer.On April 19, 2008 he faced Mexican boxer Edgar Sosa in Port-au-Prince, Haiti for the WBC light flyweight title.-External links:...

 from Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

 at the Cebu Coliseum in Cebu City. Melindo won on points with the scores of 111-117, 112-116 and 111-117.

Flyweight

On January 14, 2010, Melindo fought Anthony Villareal for the World Boxing Council (WBC) Youth Intercontinental flyweight championship belt at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel. The bout was part of the boxing event named "Bakbakan sa Sinulog". The unbeaten boxer defeated his foe by unanimous decision with the scores of :97-93, 95-94, and 96-93. Melindo kept his unbeaten record after 20 fights with five of his wins coming by way of knockout, while his opponent suffered his third loss against nine wins (4 KO).

After letting the deposed champion to take control of the action in the opening minutes of the first round, Melindo picked up the pace in the final half by knocking down Villareal in the final seconds with a solid right during an exchange. Stunned but not totally hurt by Melindo’s right, Villareal again started out strong in the second but his aggressiveness was once again silenced by another right from the Filipino challenger. Melindo slowly took control of the fight in the third round, when he began to throw more powerful against the tough opponent. Villareal became desperate to turn things around in the final rounds when he throwed punches in volumes but most of his shots were wild and didn't hit Melindo.

Melindo was scheduled to face Devis Perez of Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

 on April 10, 2010 at the Dubai Tennis Arena in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...

, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...

. However, the fight was postponed to April 23 because of the non appearance of Bobby Pacquiao
Bobby Pacquiao
Alberto Dapidran Pacquiao, more commonly known as Bobby Pacquiao, is a retired Filipino professional boxer.He is the younger brother of Manny Pacquiao.-Boxing career:...

 in one of the featured fights on April 9.

A day before the fight, Perez was replaced by Thailand's Komrit Twinsgym, who arrived only the previous night in Dubai as a last minute replacement of original opponent of Columbia who failed to make his way here after flights in Europe were disrupted due to Iceland volcanic ash hovering above the continent. The Melindo-Twinsgym bout was the Filipino's first fight outside the Philippines. The Cagayan de Oro native won the bout by TKO in the 4th round.

The undefeated fighter Melindo (21-0-0, 6KO) who was defending his WBC Youth Intercontinental title, floored Komrit Twinsgym (15-4-0, 11KO) in the first minute of the first round and again towards the end of the round looking to make short work of the travel-weary Thai. Komrit refused to let go and flurried Melindo with some combinations during heated exchanges with the stalking Melindo in the second and third round. Komrit was caught by Melindo's solid punches in the fourth round and was sent to the canvas again. Veteran referee Bruce McTavish didn't count the Thai boxer and stopped the contest, allowing Melindo to retain his title. On August 28, 2010, Melindo fought Jin-Man Jeon at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel in Cebu. The Filipino pugilist won the bout by TKO in the 2nd round.

Other events

On March 11, 2010, Melindo received an award in the 28th SAC-SMB Cebu Sports Awards, along with four other Filipino boxers: Z Gorres
Z Gorres
Zeta Celestino Oliveros Gorres, better known as Z Gorres, is a retired Filipino professional boxer.-Personal life:Gorres has a brother named Jun Gorres who was formerly a boxer but was stabbed to death in a street fight. His real name is a combination of those of his parents; Zeta and Celestino ...

, Donnie Nietes
Donnie Nietes
Donnie Nietes is a Filipino professional boxer and the WBO Light Flyweight World Champion. He is also a former WBO Minimumweight World Champion. His cousin, Gerson Nietes, is also a boxer....

, Rodel Mayol
Rodel Mayol
Rodel Bryan Generalao Mayol , more commonly known as just Rodel Mayol, is a Filipino professional boxer and the former WBC Light Flyweight World Champion.-Early life:...

 and Johnriel Casimero
Johnriel Casimero
John Riel Casimero , more commonly known as Johnriel Casimero, is a Filipino professional boxer and was once the interim WBO Light Flyweight Champion. Casimero currently resides in barangay Guizo in Mandaue City, Cebu, where he trains and lives in the city's IPI Gym...

. The event was organized by the Sportswriters Association of Cebu (SAC) and held at the Casino Español de Cebu.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK