Promoter Bob Arum, a Hall of Famer, is showcasing Filipino boxers when Nonito Donaire and Bernabe Concepcion take on touted rivals on Aug. 15 at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas.
The main event will see Donaire against Rafael Concepcion of Panama for the interim World Boxing Association (WBA) super-flyweight crown. The event is dubbed "Pinoy Power 2".
Arum, whose promotional outfit Top Rank will stage the slambang show.
Top Rank publicist Ricardo Jimenez said Filipino puncher-super-lightweight prospect Mark Jason Melligen of the Antonio L. Aldeguer Stable of Cebu will see action in the undercard.
Arum had described Melligen, formerly an amateur standout, as a "terrific fighter" following his smashing performance two weeks ago in Ensenada, Mexico.
Arum has had a taste of the Filipino boxers' furious fists with Manny Pacquiao as his flagship fighter but is likewise enthralled with the arrival of new blood in Donaire, Concepcion, Melligen and Brian Viloria.
TAGBILARAN'S ADOPTED SON
VS MEXICAN KO ARTIST
Rising ALA Stable star Mark Jason Melligen has impressively won all his three fights in the United States this year.
Melligen deserved to be given due credit for that, but the Bacolod City-native punching dynamo should face the reality that he is yet to hurdle an acid test to prove his true value in the lucrative US boxing market.
And that would be against the Mexican power-hitter Michel "El Bravo" Rosales when they collide in the undercard of the interim WBA super flyweight championship bout between Nonito "The Filipino Flash" Donaire and Panamian Rafael "El Torito" Concepcion on August 15 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
While Melligen wields a shining credential he further spotlighted by planting a blackey on the comebacking former pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather during a sparring session, Rosales poses as a danger zone in his road to glory.
Towering at 5-foot-11, the 26-year-old Rosales is a certified knockout artist having sent 21 of his 24 foes into the dreamland.
However, there is one thing that would be of Melligen's delight. Rosales seems to be a reckless ring tiger as he suffered all his three defeats also vis stoppage.
Rosales absorbed his previous setback at the hands of Saul Alvarez via 10th round TKO last April 11 Gimnasio Niños Heroes in Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico. Two months later, Rosales bounced back with fire in his eyes, eking out a majority decision victory over Luis Fernando Uribe to snatch the WBC FECOMBOX light middleweight title.
The other factors that will likely confront the 23-year-old Melligen is that Rosales is four inches taller than him, bigger and heavier.
But in an earlier interview a day after his arrival from the US last week, Melligen, bold and daring as ever, said he doesn't care who is his next opponent so long as he has proper training and conditioning. In fact, he is even willing to challenge Mayweather if opportunity permits.
Above all, Melligen also possesses sledgehammer fists having flattened 11 of his 15 victims, the latest was a stunning second round KO OF Fabian Luque two days ago at the Gimnasio Oscar "Tigre" Garcia in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico.
That too is something that should be a cause of worry for Rosales.
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