Merlito Sabillo (born January 19, 1984) is a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

professional

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

. He is a former

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...

Minimumweight World Champion.

Professional career

Early years as professional boxer

In 2008, at the age of 24, Sabillo started his career as professional boxer. On, August 1, 2010, he won the Philippines Games and Amusement Board (GAB) strawweight title against Jetly Purisima via twelve round unanimous decision. On October 8, 2011, Sabillo won the vacant OPBF Minimumweight Title against his landsman Rodel Tejares via twelve round unanimous decision.

Minimumweight division

On March 9, 2013, Sabillo defeated Colombia's Luis de la Rosa via 8-round technical knockout to win the interim WBO Minimumweight world title. He was later promoted to full champion after original champion

Moises Fuentes Moises or Moisés is a male name common among people of Iberian origin. It is the Spanish language, Spanish, Portuguese language, Portuguese and Filipino language, Tagalog equivalent of the name Moses. ;Places * Doctor Moisés Bertoni, a village i ...

vacated the title to move up to

Light Flyweight Light flyweight, also known as junior flyweight or super strawweight, is a weight class in boxing. Professional boxing The weight limit at light flyweight in professional boxing is 108 pounds (49 kilograms). When New York legalized boxing in 1920 ...

. He successfully made his first title defence against Jorle Estrada on July 13, 2013. He retained his title for a second time against Nicaraguan Carlos Buitrago in a bout ending in a disputed split decision. In his next fight, Sabillo lost the title to Francisco Rodriguez, Jr. via tenth round TKO. On November 15, 2014 Merlito Sabillo lost to the hard-hitting

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

Journeyman Ellias Nggenggo. The fight turned into street brawl as the two fighters, throwing some wild punches and hard exchanges. In the end Merlito Sabillo come up short as the Indonesian visitor Ellias Nggenggo wins the bout. On June 12, 2015, Sabillo defeated his fellow Filipino Countrymen Powell Balaba into a 6 round fighting contest that was held at the L' Fisher Hotel, La Proa Ballroom, Bacolod, Negros Occidental, Philippines. On November 29, 2015, he defeated the Indonesian Fighter Jack Amisa into a 6 round contest. On May 8, 2016, he face the Japanese Prospect Riku Kano at Bunka Center, Sanda,

Hyōgo Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and has a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to the southeast, an ...

for the interim OPBF Minimumweight title. In the earlier rounds, Merlito used his experience as he utilized his Left Straight Hand and Right Hook. Kano began to warm up with rounds 3 and 4 being much more competitive. Going at the last 4 rounds both men started to show the signs of fatigue at the ring. Kano was trying to pickup the fight and began to land shots while Sabillo lost his footwork and could not connect any of his punches to his opponent. Both men displayed their courage in the ring and they gave the audience a better fight. In the end Sabillo fell short and the much younger Japanese Prospect Riku Kano wins the bout and the OPBF Minimumweight title. On November 11, 2016, the Former World Champion Merlito Sabillo was back to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

for the second time as he faced the hard-hitting Japanese Professional Boxer

Ryuya Yamanaka is a Japanese professional boxer who held the WBO mini-flyweight title from 2017 to 2018. Background Yamanaka took up boxing in the sixth grade of elementary school, after having read a boxing manga called Hajime no Ippo. In the second year o ...

for the vacant OPBF Minimumweight title. Sabillo started well in the earlier rounds as he landed clean shots establishing his ground on the earlier bout. As the bout progressed Yamanaka built his confidence as he connected a body shot on Sabillo and landed some serious shots on him making Sabillo lost his ground and his defense as the fight proceeds. In the end Sabillo fell short and Yamanaka claim the OPBF Minimumweight title, making Sabillo, make his second lost in

Light flyweight division

On May 27, 2017 he defeated the Indonesian Fighter, Jack Amisa for a vacant Asian Boxing Federation Light Flyweight title. He successfully defend his Asian Boxing Federation Light Flyweight Title to his Filipino Countrymen Crison Omayao. On February 17, 2018 Merlito Sabillo lost to the undefeated Filipino Prospect Edward Heno to a 12-round fight for the unification of Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation and Asian Boxing Federation Light Flyweight titles. On September 15, 2018 he fought the Chinese Fighter Jing Xiang for a vacant

World Boxing Council The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...

Silver Light Flyweight title were he lost by unanimous decision.

Professional boxing record

Titles in boxing

''Major World Titles:'' *

Minimumweight Champion ''(105 lbs)'' ''Minor World Titles:'' * OPBF Minimumweight title. ''(105 lbs)'' * ABF light flyweight Title ''(108 lbs)'' *Philippines Games & Amusement Board Minimumweight title. ''(105 lbs)''

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sabillo, Merlito Living people Boxers from Negros Occidental 1984 births Mini-flyweight boxers World mini-flyweight boxing champions World Boxing Organization champions Filipino male boxers