The top boxing prospects from the Philippines

The Philippines has a long tradition in the boxing that goes back to the early 1900's with the likes of Pancho Villa and Ceferino Garcia and now has fighters like Manny Pacquiao, Donnie Nietes and Nonito Donaire dominating the P4P rankings. Fight by fight however, it seems as if Pacquiao's career is slowly coming to an end and the Pinoy fight fans are going to have to look to the next generation of Filipino fighters. This article hopes to exposure some of those upcoming Filipino pugilists to fight fans around the world.

Milan Melindo
Whilst Milan Melindo cannot be considered a “hidden” fighter he's a fighter who has lacked the exposure that his talent deserves. The 23 year old “El Metodico” is 25-0 (9) and ranked highly by the 4 major organisations (including a #5 ranking with the WBC) at Flyweight though has yet to really have the praise that he deserves.
Melindo started his career down at Minimumweight back in 2005 when he was aged just 17 and won the WBO Asia Pacific Minimumweight title 2 years later. Since then however he has filled out into his body and moved from Minimumweight up to Flyweight picking up both the WBC Youth Inter-continental title and the WBO Inter-Continental. Sadly as he's filled out he's also found that he can't hurt fighters as easily as he once could. His lack of power however hasn't stopped his rise to the top as he's shown fantastic skills and the ability to rattle off some gorgeous combinations with sharp and accurate punches whilst also proving to be an elusive target.
Some are declaring Melindo as the future of Filipino boxing and watching him you can understand why. He has all the moves you could wish to see in a fighter defensively though also knows how to attack and has both the slippery defence and the lightning offence that will make him dangerous to anyone in the lower weight divisions.

Froilan Saludar
Known as the “The sniper” Froilan Saludar is one of the most promising your boxers anywhere in the world today. Saludar mixes hard, quick and accurate punches with true 1 punch KO power and has managed to live up to his nickname in some style. Although he's 22 he fights like a much older fighter and seems to be somewhat a naturally destructive fighter who can bring a lot of excitement into the ring. With a record of 13-0-1 (10) he's perhaps on the inexperienced side, though he's struggling to get rounds under his belt as opponents simply cannot survive long enough. With just 40 professional rounds under his belt, it's amazing that only Gabriel Pumar has managed to see the start of a 7^th round.
Saludar, like Melindo, is a highly rated Flyweight and holds a number a number of lofty rankings including a #2 rankings with the WBO (which to be honest I find a little bit ludicrous). With his eye catching style however you can almost certainly see him making it big in the US well before American fans catch on to Melindo though a fight between the two would be the ultimate banger v boxer and make for one of the biggest all Pinoy fights in a long time.
(Video thanks to MrJerbox10

Albert Pagara
17 year old superstar in the making “Prince” Albert Pagara is one of the fighters that it's impossible not to get a little bit excited about. Pagara debuted in January 2011 and ran up a record of 9-0 (7) within a year. Whilst Pagara is incredibly young he has scored one or two solid wins, including an 8 round decision over Shabani Madilu, proving that Pagara can do 8 rounds.
Pagara does still look like a novice in the ring, though what is more eye catching is that Pagara looks like a skinny little boy in the ring, this is likely to change as his body fills out and he moves up the divisions, though he could be a seriously scary fighter if he continues to improve the way he has done over the past 11 months. Pagara is currently fighting as a Super Flyweight, though I could easily imagine him fighting as high as featherweight in the next 5 or 6 years.

Sylvester Lopez
Lopez is the forgotten man of Filipino boxing in recent years and despite his record of 18-3-1 (14) the 24 year old is genuinely a title threat in the Super Flyweight division (where he holds the WBC “silver” title). Lopez's record is marred by controversy including a close loss to Smalben Bujas and a hugely controversial loss to Mexican youngster Juan Jose Montes in a fight that really was a robbery. Lopez's unlucky losses may actually be a blessing in disguise however as he no longer has to protect his “0” to get to the top and will instead have to do it on genuine merit.
Lopez's record however isn't just about his losses, he holds really good wins over Wandee Singwancha and Oscar Ibarra. Those wins belie the talent that “Silver” has. Though as well as obvious talent he also has real venom in his punches and throws as if he means to hurt opponents.
Whilst Lopez may no longer be seen as a true “prospect” he is a fighter that many may have failed to pick up on, or even disregarded due to his record. For boxing fans around the world, I cannot plead enough for you to give Lopez another chance, just pay him some attention as he is honestly worth it.

Genesis Servania
Gensis turned professional back in February 2009 aged just 17 though since then he has run up 15 straight victories and started to really come of age. Despite facing a lower level of opposition for the first couple of years of his career he has now started to blossom into a fighter who is not only stepping up through the levels of the sport but passing really solid tests. Most impressively was his last fight in which he clearly out pointed the former world title challenger Gerson Guerrero over 8 relatively 1 sided rounds.
Although footage of Gensis is incredibly difficult to find, what footage we do have (of him sparring) show he has incredible handspeed and the ability to use it correctly. His jab, hooks and uppercuts are delivered with blurring speed which need to be watched in slow motion to really see. Amazingly it's not only his hands that move quickly but his head movement is also lightning quick.
Whilst Genesis has enviable speed his record would indicate that he's not a huge puncher with just 5 stoppages in his 15 record (15-0, 5) though at his age he could very easily be growing into his power.
On December 10^th Genesis will face unbeaten Mexican Marcos Cardenas (12-0-1, 9) in what is another sturdy test for the young Pinoy, a win should hopefully see him step up another level in 2012.

Lorenzo Villanueva
At the start of 2011 I honestly thought that Lorenzo Villanueva would have at least mixed it with world level competition, instead the 26 year old has actually taken a step back in his opposition in a year that was a bit of disappointment despite going 3-0 (3) for the year. Villanueva with a record of 21-0-0-1 (20) might be one of the best finishers in the sport, sadly fighting the likes of Ruben Santillanosa in his 20^th fight proved nothing.
Villanueva is undoubtedly one of the most exciting fighters in the Philippines today, his style says it all, he charges out and tries to decimate his opponents from the opening bell. It's very fan friendly and incredibly good fun to watch sadly however his career could end up stalling at the rate he's going, which is a huge shame considering he is highly ranked by the organising bodies. For a guy like “Thunderbolt” he perhaps needs someone to get him big fights, though he has the sort of style that any fight fan will enjoy. It would be a shame if no American promoter can drag him away from the Philippines for a major fight against a top contender in a featherweight division that looks like it's losing it's top fighters.

Mercito Gesta
If there is 1 Filipino fighter that has got internet chat rooms buzzing then it's Mercito “No Mercy” Gesta, the lightweight prospect who seems to be on everyone's lips at the moment. Aged 24 Mercito has been fighting since he was a kid, first as a kick boxer and then soon afterwards a boxer as his father recognised his immense natural talent in the sport. It was due to his natural gift that Mercito didn't have an amateur experience and instead turned professional whilst still in his teens.
Mercito is a much different fighter now to what he was when he turned professional a week after his 16^th birthday and beat Edwin Picardal, in fact for that fight Mercito was a mere flyweight, but now, with his body filled out he's a solid lightweight (and even a light welterweight) and carries a real punch on him which seems to be coming with age.
Whilst Mercito's record of 24-0-1 (12) does lack big names, he has beaten the likes of 2-time world title challenger Ricardo Dominguez and in impressive fashion. We would hope that he adds to his record over the next 12 months and adds to his growing reputation as a serious title contender. With the lightweight division going the way it has been going, he may very well end up with a title fight by the end of the year.

Adones Cabalquinto
The final Pinoy prospect that we will look at is Adones “The undertaker” Cabalquinto, a 23 year old former amateur star who has turned professional and is swiftly impressive fans. Cabalquinto won numerous amateur medals before turning professional in March 2010 and stopping Alde De Zosa in 4 rounds. By the end of 2010 Cabalquinto was 6-0 (4) and during 2011 he would and another 3 victories (all by KO) to move to 9-0 (7). Although on paper he has moved on with his career well, it's a bit worrying to see he has fought Jury Noda 3 times (winning each of the fights by TKO).
Whilst Cabalquinto is certainly talented he does look like he will need to be brought along somewhat slowly, allowing him to round off into a more professional style. Despite this he's probably the most out and out interesting and promising youngster in the Philippines, he's got a great background in the sport, seems to be slowly improving and has solid fundamentals to build on.