Ken Shiro vs Milan Melindo Preview Oct. 7th
Undefeated Ken Shiro of Kyoto, Japan will be putting his WBC Light Flyweight Title on the line for the fourth time this Sunday, October 7th when he faces off against Milan Melindo of the Philippines in Yokohama. The bout will be broadcast live on DAZN in North Americ and Fuji TV in Japan. Shiro’s last outing was a second-round knockout over Ganigan Lopez back in May while Melindo last saw action in December of 2017 when he dropped a 12-round unanimous decision to Ryoichi Taguchi and lost his IBF Light Flyweight Title to the WBA Super World Light Flyweight Champion.
Shiro vs Melindo Betting Odds
Here are the winner odds from online sportsbook 5dimes.eu
- Milan Melindo +198
- Ken Shiro -278
My Pick
The 26-year-old Shiro originally won his title from Lopez via majority decision in May of 2017 in his 10th pro fight. He then defended it by majority decision over Pedro Guevara, a fourth-round stoppage of Gilberto Pedroza and then the first-round KO over Lopez. The baby-faced Shiro turned pro back in 2014 and has compiled a perfect record so far at 13-0 along with 7 Kos. He’s not really known as a big hitter with a current knockout ratio of 54 per cent, but his power definitely can’t be underestimated.
Shiro stands just over 5-feet-4-inches tall with a reach of 64.5 inches. He’s boxed a total of 85 rounds since turning pro and has been involved in some close decisions recently. He’s displayed a solid chin so far as well as good boxing skills. Twelve of Shiro’s 13 opponents have had winning records while the other one was making his pro debut, so he’s jumped in feet first. He’s been learning on the job and hasn’t been put in with easy touches to pad his record. He’s still relatively inexperienced as a pro though.
The 30-year-old Melindo is a former world champion who enters the ring with a mark of 37-3 with 13 Kos. He won a few regional and international title belts before taking on Juan Francisco Estrada in 2013 for the WBO Flyweight Title and the WBA Super Flyweight Title. However, he lost a unanimous decision. He also lost a six-round technical decision to Javier Mendoza two years later in a shot at the IBF world title, but won the interim belt in November, 2016 with a unanimous decision over Teeraphong Utaida.
Melindo defended the title twice against Akira Yaegashi by first-round TKO and against Hekkie Budler by split decision before losing it to Taguchi last December. Melindo has plenty of experience since turning pro as a 17 year old in 2005 after approximately 500 amateur bouts and has 300 rounds under his belt since then. He’s 5-feet-2-inches tall with a 65.5-inch reach so has a minimal inch advantage in reach, but is two inches shorter than Shiro. Melindo also has excellent boxing skills, but little in the way of power with a knockout ratio of 33 per cent.
Prediction…
This is a good test for Shiro since Melindo has a wealth of experience in both the amateur and pro ranks and is also 5-3 with two Ko’s against former, current, and future world champions. Shiro has the edge in power, but he’ll find Melindo has a pretty solid chin. There’s a good chance this fight goes the distance and it should be quite competitive. We’ll be able to see exactly how good Shiro is at this stage of his career and I’m leaning towards him keeping his belt in a close contest.
Shiro’s non-stop energy should let him retain the title.
Play Shiro -278 @ 5dimes.eu
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Ken Shiro betting • Milan Melindo betting