Cocky foe irks Donnie
Donnie Nietes says he wants to stop cocky Mexican challenger in Pinoy Pride 31 on July 4
FRANCISCO Rodriguez’s cockiness has further fueled Donnie Nietes’ desire to beat him badly.
“I have studied his style. I won’t say that I will knock him out but if I get the chance I will really knock him out. I want to fight arrogant guys. His arrogance has put me up to the challenge,” said Nietes yesterday in the press launch of Pinoy Pride 31 - “Clash of the World Champions” at the Rajah Park Hotel.
Nietes, who just turned 33, is defending his World Boxing Organization (WBO) and lineal The Ring light flyweight titles against Rodriguez on July 4 at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino.
In Nietes’ title defense against Carlos Velarde last year at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino, Rodriguez came all the way from Mexico to fight a non-title bout in the undercard against a nobody in Jomar Fajardo. The reason for his visit to the Philippines was to challenge Nietes and that he did when he boldly called out Nietes in the final press conference before the event.
The 21-year-old Rodriguez’s fight, however, didn’t go the way he wanted as he was tagged by Fajardo’s overhand the whole night and luckily walked out with a draw. He, however, had a rematch with Fajardo in Mexico last January and got a unanimous decision.
Nietes made history that night by stopping Velarde in seven rounds and sat out the rest of the year to become the longest reigning Filipino world champion.
Nietes is off a ninth-round stoppage over Gilberto Parra last March at the Araneta Coliseum with a picture-perfect performance. He is 35-1-4 with 21 knockouts, while Rodriguez is 17-2-1 with 11 KOs.
Running out of worthy challengers, Nietes will soon be moving up in weight to go up against the big names of the stacked flyweight division – the likes of Roman Gonzalez and Juan Francisco Estrada.
“Gonzalez is one of the best fighters in the lower weight divisions. After this fight, we hope to fight the big names. We are looking at Estrada and Gonzalez. We are hoping that this is something that would happen,” said ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer.