Medecilo sets date with history

Zyvyr Medecilo will bid to become the first Filipino boxer to win a world crown with the least number of fights.

That job he will attempt to pull off takes place on 26 November at the Ebara Wave Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

The opponent will be knockout artist Takeshi Ishii, who will be making the first defense of the World Boxing Association (WBA) minimumweight crown he had won only last month by knocking out Puerto Rican Wilfredo Mendez in just 65 seconds.

The Medecilo-Ishii showdown will serve as the main supporting fight to the headlining International Boxing Federation flyweight clash featuring defending champion Masamichi Yabuki and Filipino mandatory challenger Miel Fajardo.

Medecilo, 21, holds an unbeaten 9-0-0 win-loss-draw record with five knockouts and he would take the place of Malcolm Tuñacao as the Filipino fighter to win a world title with the least number of bouts.

Tuñacao stopped World Boxing Council flyweight king Medgoen 3K Battery — the Thai tormentor of Manny Pacquiao — in six rounds in May 2000 despite only fighting professionally for the 11th time.

“It’s going to be a historic night for Philippine boxing,” said Lennon Tsoi, the Hong Kong manager of Medecilo and Fajardo.

“Imagine if they both end up winning world titles on the same night,” he added.

Should they prevail, Fajardo and Medecilo will join Pedro Taduran as the country’s reigning world champions.

The title fights of Fajardo and Medecilo were made possible by the solid working relationship between Tsoi and American dealmaker Sean Gibbons, who has a proven track record with Japanese promotional outfits like Ohashi Promotions.

Fajardo, Medecilo and Tsoi, alongside their support staff, are leaving for Tokyo on 20 November.