Merlito Sabillo: WBO Minimumweight Championship
Merlito “Tiger” Sabillo is a Filipino boxer from Negros Occidental and a former WBO minimumweight world champion. He began his professional career in 2008, according to the WBO.
WBO title reign
Sabillo won the interim WBO minimumweight title on March 9, 2013, stopping Colombia’s Luis de la Rosa in the eighth round. He was subsequently recognized as WBO world champion and made two successful defenses. His November 2013 defense against Carlos Buitrago ended in a split draw, so Sabillo retained the title.
Sabillo’s reign ended in March 2014 when Mexico’s Francisco Rodríguez Jr. stopped him in the tenth round. Later, Sabillo continued boxing, including a 2018 bout with Jing Xiang for the WBC light-flyweight silver title, which he lost by decision. His professional title progression included Philippine, OPBF and WBO championship competition.
Further career results
Sabillo’s route to the world championship began with domestic and regional titles. On August 1, 2010, he beat Jetly Purisima by unanimous decision in a twelve-round contest for the Philippine Games and Amusements Board minimumweight title. He added the vacant OPBF championship on October 8, 2011, when he outpointed Rodel Tejares over twelve rounds. Those wins established him in the division before the overseas opportunity against Luis de la Rosa. His promotion from interim to full WBO champion followed Moisés Fuentes’s move to light flyweight in 2013. It was an administrative succession following an interim-title victory, rather than another win over Fuentes in the ring. The two stages of Sabillo’s championship story should therefore be read together: he earned the interim belt by stoppage in Colombia, then received full recognition after the existing champion moved up. His subsequent draw with Buitrago preserved the championship because a draw does not transfer a reigning champion’s title.
Fuentes moved to junior flyweight as the WBO’s number-one contender, opening the way for Sabillo’s full championship recognition in April 2013.
Sources
- WBO: Merlito Sabillo profile
- PhilBoxing: Sabillo’s WBO minimumweight title reign
- Philstar: Sabillo loses WBO title to Rodríguez
- PhilBoxing: Merlito Sabillo career results
