Donnie does it
Amidst a relatively quiet front in Cebu Boxing, Donnie does it again. After defeating Juan Carlos Reveco by KO in defending his IBF flyweight world championship last week, Donnie Nietes added one more W to his career that’s already worthy of the highest awards for the sport. He has now been a champion since 2007, and has won three world titles in three weight classes: WBO minimumweight (105 pounds), WBO light flyweight (108 pounds) and flyweight (112 pounds). Despite achieving all this, has Donnie finally received the respect due to him from all of boxing? Has the international media caught on with Donnie? Had Donnie’s brand crossed over to Vegas? What will it take for Donnie to finally gain the respect of the international boxing media and top promoters?
While we’ve always recognized Donnie to be an “A” level world champion, he hasn’t gotten the respect and attention
of the big boys of boxing. Even if he’s recognized by Ring as the sport’s top flyweight, why hasn’t he been featured in the big shows and big ticket events of Vegas? His latest win though, even if coming at the age of 35, is better late than never. I just hope this will bring in more big fights for Donnie in the U.S. and fatter paychecks for the Pinoy idol with the longest-reign in as world champion in Philippine Boxing history. I pray that he gets on board the big cards of Top Rank or any other big promoter.
One thing that the international media has taken “against” Donnie has been what they refer to as a lack of quality of opponents in his career. They also add that his management plotted a safe and careful line-up of opponents to protect his record. But a quick look at Donnie’s record reveals that he defeated former world champions Moises Fuentes twice, Raul Garcia, Ramon Garcia, Manuel Vargas, Jesus Silve st re, Sammy Gutierrez, Francisco Rodriguez Jr. and Rev eco. While these boxers may not have been at the level of Gonzales, we can also say they weren’t at the level of Donnie, making him at par with the best champions in the lightest weight divisions.
True, Donnie didn’t fight Roman Gonzales back then but this was because it was perceived that Donnie was someone who couldn’t bring in the revenues for the promoter. Gonzales’s promoters were always on the look-out for attractive opponents who could help bring in ticket sales and PPV buys. I’ve always wondered why Donnie’s break into the U.S. market came in rather late. Note that he already fought in the U.S. twice with the goal of showcasing his skills to the international market. Neither can we say that he’s afraid to fight overseas. Didn’t he win all those crucial fights on hostile turf in Mexico? My guess is that he may not have broken into the boxing fans’s minds as a topnotch, exciting and must-see world champion. With this as a scenario, he doesn’t become a first pick option for promoters.
`Now that he has defended his world title in the big stage, better things should be coming next for Donnie. He may continue defending his IBF world title, but this has to be done in the U.S. market. Is a unification title coming soon? WBA flyweight champion Artem Dalakian of Ukraine fought on the same card as Donnie, beating Brian Viloria. The WBC champion is Daigo Higa of Japan while the WBO champ is Sho Kimura also of Japan. Who’s a good target among them? Another option is moving up in weight. There are talks about facing Roman Gonzales at 115 pounds. WBC super flyweight champion Srisaket Sor Runvisai of Thailand is today’s main attraction after his two wins over Gonzales.
What not many cite as one of Donnie’s achievements is that like Manny Pacquiao, Donnie has also helped opened the doors for the young prospects of Cebu Boxing. We can now expect Cebu’s top prospects to make their move soon. Jonas Sultan is set to challenge fellow Pinoy world champion Jerwin Ancajas for the latter’s IBF super flyweight championship. Although he lost his last fight, Milan Melindo is still considered among boxing’s top light flyweights. You also have the other young guns who I’m sure have been inspired by boxing’s role model. Donnie’s best assets are ironically not his boxing skills and talents per se. This has got to be his down-to-earth, simple and humble personality that is so moving and comes as a breath of fresh air in this trash-talking/wining-and-dining sport.
Donnie has done it again, but for us, he’s been doing this since his first fight. Thanks a lot Donnie for just being Donnie.