By Chris Robinson

Ever since his commanding victory over Gabriel Martinez this past February inside of the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada, I had been waiting patiently for any news on Mark Melligen's next fight. Having put together a string of five straight victories since his shock November 2009 loss to Michel Rosales, Melligen has been a fighter on the rise, showing improvement from one fight to the next against an interesting lineup of opponents.

I was pleasantly surprised when I caught a recent piece by my colleague Dennis Guillermo, stating that Melligen indeed would be returning on July 1st against former title contender Freddy Hernandez in San Antonio, Texas. Upon hearing the news I phoned Melligen's trainer Tony Martin to get his take on the matchup.

Speaking from his bases in Las Vegas, Martin did make a point to note that no contracts for the fight have been signed but if the fight comes off it is one he is in favor of.

"What I think of the fight is that it would be perfect for Mark, really," said Martin. "It's going to be a good step up for him and it's what we really wanted for a long time now. Freddy Hernandez is a step up for him and we'll find out whether or not he can really go all the way. It's a great opportunity."

As our brief talk continued Martin admitted how pleased he was with the Martinez victory and stated that he sees improvement in his 25-year old charge every time out.

Melligen spends his rigorous training duties at Floyd Mayweather's gym in Las Vegas and stays in shape with light training while back home in the city of Cebu in his native Philippines. While his fighter is overseas, Martin said the two men don't have much contact and that he relays much of his information to ALA promoter Antonio Aldeguer.
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It's often a carefree time when it camp with Team Melligen but the work they put in is always serious. If the Hernandez fight pushes through Melligen should be hitting the city sometime on Sunday.

Hernandez was riding a 13-bout unbeaten streak heading into last November's title shot against then-WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto. Hernadnez was dusted in that fight with a single right hand in the first round but Martin insists he won't be taking the Mexico City fighter lightly.

"I look at every opponent as dangerous. They are all dangerous once they get in the ring but I think Mark's got the capabilities of handling him. I really do. I haven't had much time to look at him but I will to see if he has any weaknesses that we can expose."

Chris Robinson is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. An archive of his work can be found here , and he can be reached at Trimond@aol.com