Shiro-Melindo joins Inoue-Payano undercard
Shiro will be making the fourth defense of his light flyweight belt
The October 7th bantamweight title fight between Naoya Inoue and Juan Carlos Payano will have some top-notch accompaniment courtesy of WBC Light Flyweight Champion Ken Shiro, who will defend his title in Yokohama against former champ Milan Melindo.
Shiro (13-0, 7 KO), nom de guerre of 26-year-old Kenshiro Teraji, narrowly edged Ganigan Lopez for the belt and likewise scraped by Pedro Guevara in his first defense. He’s been a little more authoritative since, most recently dispatching Lopez with a body shot two rounds into their rematch.
Melindo (37-3, 13 KO) enjoyed a solid reign as IBF champ, dispatching both Akira Yaegashi and Hekkie Budler, but came up short in a unification war against Ryoichi Taguchi last December. Taguchi wound up losing to Budler soon after, further proving that the transitive property is baloney.
It’s a shame we never got to see a unifier between Shiro and Taguchi, but this is a solid co-feature for the WBSS quarterfinal.