Melindo stops foe in first round

Pasay City—Two prized ALA Gym stalwarts lived up to their lofty billings as Milan Melindo and Genesis Servania romped off with stirring victories in the main supporting bouts of the Pinoy Pride 14: Night of Champions at the Newport Performing Arts Theater of the Resorts World Manila here.

Melindo made short work of Jesus Gelez, stopping the Colombian boxer in the 2:21 mark of the first round.

Retaining his WBO International flyweight crown, Melindo stayed undefeated in 27 fights capped off with 11 knockouts.

Gelez absorbed his third loss against 13 wins and one draw.

Milan peppered Gelez with a series of body shots, quickly downing his opponent. Gelez was able to beat the count of referee Danrex Tapdasan but came crashing down seconds later when Melindo tagged him with a left hook to the body.

Servania likewise kept his unbeaten record intact but had to go through the proverbial eye of the needle before stopping Mexico’s Genaro Garcia in the 12th round.

Servania went through some anxious moments when Garcia survived several blows in the early rounds.

Servania, however, poured it all in the final round, downing Garcia with a bone-cracking right uppercut. Servania pressed on and finally put Garcia down for good with a solid right hook.

The end came at the 2:02 mark.

Servania, who defended his WBC interational silver super-bantanweight title, now has six knockouts in his 18 victories.

“I was not surprised [that] the fight was close.  I knew he was a tough fighter that’s why I prepared hard for this fight,” said Servania.

The veteran Garcia went home with his ninth loss in 47 fights.

In the undercards, Eljohn Evangelista posted a unanimous win over Takaoki Noma. Juren Labordo also pulled off a unanimous victory over Fel Morales while Arjan Canillas completed a majority decision win over Warren Manbuanag.

Ralph Lulu won unanimously over Boyce Sultan while Arthur Villanueva logged a split-decision victory over Jeffrey Cerna.