Moment of truth has arrived for Milan Melindo

Former world boxing champ struggles to make weight against hard-hitting Thai

Milan Melindo (left) stares at Chaiwat Buatkrathok (right) during the weigh-in of their OPBF silver featherweight showdown at the SM Seaside City Cebu. | By Glendale Rosal.

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Former world champion Milan “El Metodico” Melindo struggled to get the contracted weight for his Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) silver featherweight bout making three trips to the weighing scale before finally doing so on Tuesday, January 10, 2023, at the SM Seaside City Cebu.

The 34-year-old Melindo will be fighting in the featherweight division for the first time against Thai Chaiwat Buatkrathok with a contracted weight of 126 lbs.

Their bout is scheduled for tomorrow evening, January 11, 2023, at the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC).

The card’s official weigh-in was held at the SM Seaside City Cebu.

Melindo first tipped the scales at 126.9 lbs which forced him to shed off more weight outside by wearing a sauna suit.

During the official weigh-in, Buatkrathok was the first to step on the scales and easily weighed 125.2 lbs.

Meanwhile, Melindo weighed in at 126.3 lbs with only his underwear on. On his second try, he weighed in at 126.1 lbs, forcing him to strip off his underwear with only a piece of cloth held by his trainer Fernando Ocon and his teammates covering him.

His third weigh-in registered 126 lbs flat to greenlight his 10-round battle against the hard-hitting Thai.

Despite the struggle of making weight, Melindo remained confident and optimistic to win the OPBF title.

“Gusto nako mapakita sa mga boxing fans nga dili lang tinumbahay ug binun-ugay ang boxing. Gusto nako makat-on sila unsa ang technical style sa boxing nga sigurado ko ma entertain ug malingaw pud sila,” said Melindo, the former IBF and IBO world light flyweight champion.

“Timing ra gyud akong chance para ma knockout nako siya. Mo abot ra na ang knockout. Kinahanglan ra gyud ta ug perfect timing.”

Despite fighting in front of a largely partisan crowd tomorrow evening, Melindo feels he is the underdog between him and Buatkrathok.

K.O. IN SIX ROUNDS

For his part, Buatkrathok confidently announced that he will finish the bout in six rounds.

“I’m a strong boxer. I trained hard for this fight, so I can say that I can knock him out in six rounds,” said Buatkrathok via a translator.

Melindo has a record of 38 wins, 14 knockouts, and five defeats, while Buatkrathok has a 38-7 (win-loss) card with 25 knockouts.

This will be Buatkrathok’s second bout in the Philippines. His first was in 2019 where he fought and lost to former interim world champion Reymart Gaballo.

Kit Ceron Garces (left) and his opponent Noli James Maquilan (right) strike a pose during the weigh-in of their eight-rounder co-main event bout. | By Glendale Rosal

CO-MAIN EVENT

In the co-main event, Kit Ceron Garces, the reigning WBF Australasian flyweight champion tipped the scales at 114.4lbs, while his opponent Noli James Maquilan weighed in at 116lbs for their eight-rounder non-title showdown.

Garces of Talisay City, south Cebu is one of Prime Stags Sports’ stalwarts with an unbeaten record of five wins with four knockouts, while Maquilan of Compostela Valley has a record of 4-1 (win-loss) with three knockouts.

Five more undercard bouts will be featured in the fight card which will start at 6:00 PM. In addition, there will be an exhibition match that also features social media personality “Bad Boy ng Cebu.”     /rcg

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