By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Z “The Dream” Gorres once again demonstrated his boxing skills and overall class as he made a smashing debut as a bantamweight to win the WBO Oriental title with a 7th round TKO over former world minimum weight champion Roberto Carlos “Mako’ Leyva of Mexico before a huge crowd at the plush Waterfront Hotel.
After two successive main events featuring Michael Katsidis and Gerry Penalosa that were virtual flops in terms of fight fans, the “Judgment Day” card presented by the famed ALA Gym in cooperation with the giant broadcast network ABS-CBN had fight fans, many of whom were foreigners, enjoying every minute of an action-packed evening. The fights were telecast over Studio 23 and carried “live” by the global network of The Filipino Channel to the Middle-East, Europe and Australia and replayed Sunday morning on ABS-CBN’s pre-eminent Channel 2.
Gorres, looking strong and comfortable at 118 pounds showed that the additional weight didn’t slow him one bit as he caught Leyva time and time again with rapid-fire combinations which had the added dimension of new-found power.
Nicknamed “Baby Shark,” the southpaw Leyva who had lost a close majority decision to top-rated bantamweight Adrian Hernandez (21-1-1, 13 KO’s) in a WBC title eliminator was no match for the flashy Gorres who dominated the fight from the opening bell.
After a comfortable opening round Gorres picked up the tempo in round two beating Leyva to the punch as he snapped his right straight to tag the Mexican over and over again even as former world champion Raul Perez, Levya’s trainer, kept shouting to Leyva to “go forward, make your move.”
A cracking left by Gorres rocked Leyva in round three and a flurry towards the end of round four had the former world champion in deep trouble but he was saved by the bell. Gorres, unable to fend off the holding Leyva pushed the challenger away forcing respected international referee Bruce McTavish to warn Gorres that he would “lose a point” if he repeated the infraction.
Undaunted by the caution Gorres waded in with solid combinations as the fans roared in support of the very popular ALA fighter who caught Levya with a stiff right that rocked the Mexican’s head back.
Leyva’s corner was getting desperate screaming at the former world champion to effectively go for broke but a solid left right on the belt-line doubled-up Leyva who claimed it was a low blow but TV replays showed it was a legitimate punch.
It was evident that Gorres was simply at his best and there was no bite in the “Baby Shark” and there was nothing Leyva or his corner could do to stop the onslaught. Gorres nailed the Mexican with two vicious uppercuts and had him reeling when Perez shouted to McTavish and waved his hands saying “no more, no more” to signal the end for Levya and clearly a new beginning for Gorres. The official time was 1:29 of the seventh round.
Both Leyva and Perez told us later that Gorres was a fine fighter with a bright future amidst indications that Leyva survived because of his Mexican warrior’s heart but that it was probably his last fight.
As for Gorres he said “I am really strong at 118. Since my last fight was in May I was very excited to give the fans a good fight. “ Gorres said that after the first two rounds he realized “there was no way he (Leyva) could beat me. The fans wanted a knockout and I did my best but he just wouldn’t go down. I knew in the end he would give up.”
An overjoyed trainer Edito “Ala” Villamor who worked the corner of the ALA boxers along with brother Edmund and young Rey Caitom said “Gorres put on a fine show and showed us what he’s capable of.” With the emphatic win Gorres improved to 29-2-2 with 16 knockouts while Leyva fell to 25-9-1 with 20 knockouts.
In a fight that was considered a test of just how far he could go in his quest for a world title, Milan Melindo scored a unanimous ten round decision over former IBF minimum weight champion Muhammad “The Rock Breaker” Rachman of Indonesia in an excellent tactical fight where ultimately the sheer talent and skill of the 21 year old Filipino overcame the ring savvy, experience and power of Rachman.
Melindo, ranked No.1 by the WBO relied on solid hooks to the body, doubled up to the side of the head to establish himself in the first two rounds where his hand-speed was also evident. Rachman appeared to be sizing up Melindo and testing just how hard he could hit before catching Melindo with a good left hook at the end of round three.
In a close fourth round the Indonesian used his head and opened up a tiny nick on the right eyebrow of Melindo but the sweet-punching world No.1 came back with a flurry of combinations to end the round. Referee Teddy Alivio asked Rachman to lower his protective cup which he seemed to have raised precisely to prevent Melindo from catching him with his stinging left hooks to the body.
Melindo appeared to slow down a little and pace himself in the middle rounds although he did come through with a flurry in round seven before Rachman began to fight back and press the action in round eight. The 37 year old Indon fighter kept the pressure on in round nine, apparently knowing that his chances of winning and earning a world title shot at Thailand’s Oleydong Sithsamerchai was quickly slipping away.
The final round saw both fighters stand toe-to-toe in the center of the ring as they brought fight fans to their feet with a torrid exchange as the bell sounded and both fighters received a round of well-deserved applause from the fans as they hugged and took turns lifting each other in a sign of sportsmanship after a grueling battle.
All three judges scored the fight for Melindo. Salven Lagumbay turned in a scorecard of 97-93, Edwin Barrientos had it much closer at 96-94 while Noel Flores scored it for Melindo 98-92.
In a post fight interview Melindo conceded “ I was not surprised at his power. He really hits hard. He was also strong and wouldn’t go down.”
Melindo said he would like to fight for a world title but “it all depends on my manager. I will wait. We need to take it step by step.”
With the win Melindo extended his unbeaten record to 18-0 with 5 knockouts while Rachman dropped to 62-7-5 with 31 knockouts.