Melindo decisions Thai for lightfly interim title

MANILA, Philippines – Milan Melindo came well-prepared and proved to be the better fighter inside the ring Saturday evening, earning a unanimous decision over Thailand’s Fahlan Sakkreerin at the Cebu Coliseum.

Melindo, the 28-year-old pride of ALA Promotions, won in the eyes of all three judges, 117-111, 117-111 and 115-113, and left the venue as the International Boxing Federation Interim light-flyweight champion.

Melindo had a good start and earned the early nod of the judges and the crowd. The Thai tried hard to turn the tide in his favor, landed some decent shots halfway through the fight but still didn’t have enough to win it.

After two failed attempts at the world title, Melindo is now the IBF Interim champion in the 108-pound division. Up next is a possible shot at the reigning IBF king Akira Yaegashi of Japan.

Yaegashi is a 33-year-old who won the crown in December of 2015 and defended it once last May. He loves to fight in Tokyo, and if he ever faces Melindo, the Filipino boxers will most likely challenge him there.

As Melindo fought Sakkreerin in the main bout of the latest Pinoy Pride presentation, famous Japanese promoter Joe Koizumi sat at ringside.

“As you see Joe Koizumi is here representing Yaegashi. We are going to talk about the Yaegashi-Melindo fight which Joe wants to be scheduled as soon as possible,” ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer told Philboxing.com.

The Pagara brothers, Jason and Albert, came through with respective victories.

Jason was too much for his Nicaraguan opponent, Jose Alfaro, who was knocked out and sent home after the 2:15 mark of the opening round.

Albert, on the other hand, picked up the pieces from a knockout loss to Cesar Juarez last July by carving out a unanimous victory over Raymond Commey of Ghana.