Milendo knocks out Thai to seize WBO AsPac title

ALA Boxing Gym mainstay Milan Milendo put up an impressive show before his hometown fans, knocking out Thai Nuapayak Sakkririn in the fourth round to wrest the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Asia Pacific minimumweight crown the other night at the Mindanao Polytechnic State College Gymnasium in Cagayan de Oro City.

The title was vacated by Milendo’s stablemate Donnie Nietes, who snatched the regular WBO 105-pound championship with a 12-round unanimous decision victory over the previously unbeaten Thai KO artist Pornsawan Kratingdaenggym last week at the Waterfront-Cebu City Hotel.

After pummeling Sakkririn in the first three rounds, Milendo landed a powerful right straight and then followed it up with a big left hand that sent the hapless Thai crashing into the canvass for good at the 2:58 mark of round four.

Aside from stretching his unblemished record to 13-0 now spiked with 4KOs, Milendo also became the second WBO regional titlist from the ALA Stable in just six days. In the undercard of Nietes fight, AJ “Bazooka” Banal scored a smashing first-round stoppage of Mexican Esau Gaona to clinch the WBO Youth super flyweight belt.

Eden Sonsona, on the other hand, wasn’t as lucky as Milendo, losing in his bid for the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) jr bantamweight title by split decision to Japanese Kohei Kono at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.

Sonsona slipped to 12-2(2KOs), while Kono bettered his win-loss mark to 23-3 (7KOs).