From ‘El Metodico’ to ‘El Matador’

Milan Melindo was never known to be a heavy hitter. He earned the moniker “El Metodico” for being a methodical fighter, relying more on his boxing skills and smarts to outpoint opponents rather than his power to score knockouts. Melindo’s ring IQ is higher than normal and that was his calling card in moving up the ranks.

So it came as a surprise that in Tokyo last Sunday, Melindo wrested the IBF lightflyweight crown from Japanese hero Akira Yaegashi on a first round technical knockout. With the partisan crowd chanting “A-ki-ra,” the defending champion started the fight on an aggressive note. He had the better of the early exchanges. Then halfway the opening round, Melindo landed a right hook that dropped Yaegashi on the seat of his pants. He got up on one knee then stood up at the count of six.

Instead of backing off to clear the cobwebs in his head, Yaegashi met Melindo head-on. It was a tactical error that proved fatal. Melindo found an opening to connect with a left hook to the jaw and sent the Japanese tumbling down for another mandatory eight-count. Yaegashi flipped on his back and was up at three. Glassy-eyed, Yaegashi still wouldn’t retreat and with his defense opening up, took a right straight to the jaw. Yaegashi’s legs buckled and he fell on his side. California referee Eddie Hernandez waved it off as the Japanese looked helpless on the canvas at the 2:45 mark.

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The ending was totally unexpected. First, because Yaegashi had never before been stopped in one round. Second, because Melindo isn’t supposed to be a power puncher. And third, because it was unthinkable for a Japanese to go out so soon before his adoring countrymen. Yaegashi was stopped twice previously – by Chocolatito Gonzalez of Nicaragua in nine and by Pedro Guevara of Mexico in seven, both in 2014. He was decked twice by Gonzalez in the third and ninth while he fell from a body shot by Guevara in the seventh. Writer Ramon Aaron Contreras once described Yaegashi as “the most hardened of Japanese warriors.” Against Melindo, he was floored thrice in a single round, something that never happened before.

Yaegashi, 34, lost the IBF crown on his third defense. He had held the WBA minimumweight and WBC flyweight titles. It was his fourth straight fight at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo. Melindo broke his streak of three wins in a row.

The win raised Melindo’s record to 36-2, with 13 KOs. His KO rate of 36 percent is indicative of a lack of punching power. But “El Metodico” was suddenly transformed into “El Matador” in destroying Yaegashi and probably sending him into retirement with a final record of 25-6, with 15 KOs.

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The youngest of 10 children, the 29-year-old Melindo hails from Cagayan de Oro. His mother Lita had eight children before her first husband died and she remarried Milan, Sr. Melindo has one full sibling Elmi. A high school graduate, Melindo turned pro in 2005 and failed in his first two attempts to capture a world title, losing to Juan Francisco Estrada on a 12-round decision in a bid for the WBA/WBO flyweight titles in Macau in 2013 and to Javier Mendoza on a sixth round technical decision in Tijuana in 2015. On his third try, Melindo wouldn’t be denied.

It was the 10th first round knockout win in a world title fight by a Filipino in history. The first was registered by Flash Elorde over Harold Gomes in San Francisco in March 1960 and he posted the second over Sergio Caprari at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in December 1960. Elorde retained the world junior lightweight crown in both bouts. Then came Roberto Cruz who stopped Raymundo (Battling) Torres for the vacant WBC superlightweight title in Los Angeles in 1963. Ben Villaflor followed with a revenge win over Kuniaki Shibata to regain the world junior lightweight diadem in Honolulu in 1973. Luisito Espinosa entered the list with a win over Khaokor Galaxy for the WBA bantamweight crown in Bangkok in 1989.

Manny Pacquiao disposed of Thai Fahprakorb Rakkiat-Gym to retain his IBF superbantamweight belt in Davao City in 2002 and Brian Viloria took out Eric Ortiz for the WBC lightflyweight crown in Los Angeles in 2005. Edrin Dapudong blitzed Gideon Buthelezi for the IBO superflyweight title in Johannesburg in 2013 and Rey Loreto blasted Nkosinathi Joyi to keep the IBO lightflyweight diadem in Eastern Cape in 2015. Melindo is the latest addition to the elite cast.