MILAN MELINDO failed to capitalize on his experience after World Boxing Council (WBC) light flyweight king Ken Shiro outclassed him with his speed and quickness, and stopped him in the seventh round last Sunday night at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan.

Shiro landed a straight right to the head of Melindo that opened up a huge gash above his left eyebrow. Referee Laurence Cole stopped the fight in the 2:47 mark of the seventh on the recommendation of the ring physician.

“Shiro was way ahead. It was better that it was stopped,” said ALA Gym head trainer Edito Villamor.

Shiro jabbed beautifully and disrupted Melindo’s rhythm. After the fourth round, the 26-year-old Shiro was up ahead 39-37 in all three scorecards in the open scoring system.

“He had a hard time with his timing because Shiro was very quick but he came up with a good fight,” said Villamor. “His movement was good but Shiro was just too quick and was very good with his jab, which put off Milan’s timing.” Melindo has lost back-to-back fights in Japan after losing to Ryoichi Taguchi 10 months ago. He dropped to 37-4 with 13 knockouts.

Shiro remained unbeaten with 14-0 and seven knockouts.

With back-to-back losses, Villamor is unsure of Melindo’s future. However, he still believes that his 30-year-old ward is still one of the best in the division.

“There’s no plan yet. He needs to rest. It depends on him if he wants to continue boxing or not. We are still here to support him,” he said. “I think Milan still has it. But he easily gets cut. This was the same cut in the Taguchi fight. Maybe we should have it checked by a cosmetic surgeon on what should be done if Milan wants to continue fighting.”

Melindo won the International Boxing Federation (IBF) light flyweight crown last year with a first round knockout of Japanese star Akira Yaegashi. He lost his title seven months later in Japan with a unanimous decision defeat in the hands of Taguchi. (EKA)