CERTIFIED SUPER FLY
Donnie Nietes is ready to take on bigger fighters as he has moved up and is set to fight in the super flyweight following two months of serious training
Some critics would say Donnie Nietes is too small for the super flyweight division, that his power would diminish or that he wouldn’t be able to take the punches in the heavier weight division.
After two months of training and facing different sparring partners in the Maywood Boxing Club in California, coach Edmund Villamor believes that Nietes is already a certified super flyweight.
“He’s a super flyweight because he can take on fighters bigger than super flyweights,” Villamor told SunStar Cebu.
The 36-year-old Nietes has been sparring with different fighters bigger than him in preparation for his all-Filipino world title fight against Aston Palicte for the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) super flyweight title.
“It has been a huge impact, so that he’ll get used to sparring with big opponents,” said Villamor. “What I have seen in sparring is that he can take punches from bigger fighters.” According to ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer, the venue and date of the Nietes vs. Palicte bout is still uncertain.
“We are still working on it as there is a chance of a new date and location. August is still the target in the Philippines but there is a possibility it could be either in the US or Middle East in September,” said Aldeguer.
Nietes won the International Boxing Federation (IBF) flyweight belt with a unanimous decision of Komgrich Nantapech last year. He successfully defended this with a seventh-round knockout over two-division world champion Juan Carlos Reveco before relinquishing his belt for a fourth division title.
“Donnie has an advantage in experience,” said Villamor of Nietes, who has fought the cream of the crop in lighter weight divisions.
The 27-year-old Palicte, who has a four-inch height and a twoand-a-half-inch reach advantage over Nietes, won back-to-back fights last year against John Mark Apolinario and Jose Alfredo Rodriguez.
“Donnie has fought a fighter similar to his length, Moises Fuentes,” said Villamor. “His length doesn’t matter. We will adjust.” /
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