Complete ‘Pinoy Pride 34’ card bared

CEBU, Philippines – Milan 'El Metodico" Melindo and 'King' Arthur Villanueva will take on tough Mexican sluggers, even as their ALA stablemates Kevin Jake 'KJ' Cataraja, AJ 'Bazooka' Banal and Rocky 'The Road Warrior' Fuentes also brace for an uphill battle against equally-strong foreign rivals in the highly-anticipated 'Pinoy Pride 34:Back with a Vengeance" fightcard on November 28 at the Hoops Dome in Barangay Gun-ob, Lapu-Lapu City.

Melindo (32-2, 12KOs) will go up against Carlos 'Divino' Fontes (21-3, 17KOs) for the WBO International junior flyweight strap, while Villanueva (27-1, 14KOs) will gun for the WBC International super flyweight belt against Victor 'Spock' Mendez (19-2-2, 15KOs).

Cataraja and Fuentes will slug it out with Indonesian brawlers Faris Nenggo and Afrizal Tamboresi, respectively, while Banal will tackle Tanzanian brawler Emilio 'Prince Kiliminajaro' Norfat. Cataraja, a former amateur standout, will surely be tested in his only second pro bout against Nenggo, an Indon veteran of  21 fights with a 10-8-3 win-loss-draw record.

Of the five ALA stalwarts though, Melindo and Villanueva bear the most difficult mission as both are aching to get back from controversial defeats in their previous world title shots.

The 27-year-old Melindo lost by a highly questionable sixth round technical decision to Javier Mendoza in their IBF light flyweight championship match last May 30 at Campo Nuevo Ensenada in Baja California, Mexico.

American referee Gerald White stopped the fight after Mendoza sustained a nasty cut over his left eye and the judges awarded the win to Mendoza. Melindo's camp cried foul over the decision, claiming that the Cagayan de Oro City-native fighter should have been declared the winner as the cut was caused by a legitimate punch.

The same thing happened to Villanueva, who appeared to be beating McJoe Arroyo of Puerto Rico only to lose by a contentious 10th round technical decision in their IBF super flyweight title bout last July 18 at the Don Haskins Convention Center in El Paso, Texas.

The fight was marred by constant clash of heads that eventually opened up a cut above Villanueva's right eye in round six.  The cut worsened as the match progressed, prompting the referee to wave off the bout in round 10 with the judges scoring in favor of Arroyo by unbelievably lopsided margins.— EBV (FREEMAN)