A move long overdue
OING the math, Donnie “Ahas” Nietes has been a world champion since 2007, when he won the World Boxing Organization (WBO) minimumweight (105 lbs.) championship. He sat at the minimumweight throne for about four years before collaring a second world title, the WBO light flyweight (108 lbs.) crown, in 2011. Spread in two weight categories, Nietes has been a world titleholder for almost nine years.
While there is no question that Nietes’ place in Philippine boxing history is already etched in stone, there is one thing that has eluded him all these years: the career-defining super fight. More than a lengthy title reign, a boxing champion’s greatness is measured by his performance against an equally formidable adversary. After 13 years and 43 fights in the punch-for-pay business, Nietes is still looking for that careerdefining moment in the ring. At age 34, time is no longer on Nietes’ side and this explains why he is finally ditching his WBO light flyweight crown. Truth be told, the belt has become a liability, a shackle that has been preventing Nietes from pursuing the marquee names in the heavier weight classes.
Nietes has two choices at this point in his career: Stay put as WBO light flyweight king and feast on doughnutknitted foes or relinquish the belt and seek new challenges in heavier weight classes. In a recent press conference, Nietes did not mince a word in saying that he is finished as a light flyweight and wants fresh meat.
It took some time to sink in, but Nietes is finally set to move up to the flyweight (112 lbs.) division on September 24, when he takes on Mexican Edgar Rosa in a 12-round bout at the Stubhub Center in Carson, California. The heaviest Nietes had weighed is 110 + pounds, when he knocked out Danai Meendaeng in a non-title bout in 2012. He is expected to max out at 112 for the Sosa fight to get a real feel of the flyweight class.
There are two formidable names waiting for Nietes in the 112-pound division: WBO-WBA champion Juan Francisco Estrada (33-2, 24 knockouts) and WBC champ Roman Gonzalez (45-0, 38 knockouts). Estrada has been the WBO-WBA flyweight champ since 2013, when he outgunned Brian Viloria