A NIGHT OF TRIBUTE AND THANKS (PHOTOS)
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 10 Jan 2015
?Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.? - Voltaire
Donnie ?Ahas? Nietes spent most of his championship reign under the shadows of the more popular Filipino champions and contenders. He was not the one tipped to be the next big thing in Philippine boxing. He was never a source of clever quotes and he doesn?t talk trash. The snake that he carries during his ring walk got more attention than he did.
It took forty seven years for a Filipino boxer to get a chance to break the seven year three month record of the great Gabriel ?Flash? Elorde. Looking back, the former janitor seemed the most unlikely to do it. In fact, when he approached Antonio L. Aldeguer with the idea that he wanted to fight, the ALA gym patriarch thought Nietes was too scrawny to be a boxer.
But Nietes became the surprise world champion from a star-studded stable. He stunned Mexican fight fans when he defended his WBO minimumweight title three times in Mexico, the only Filipino boxer to accomplish the feat.
For his historical achievement of surpassing the barrier set by Flash Elorde, Nietes was honored by the ALA Promotions staff, the ABS-CBN sports top brass, his stable mates, trainers and sportswriters Friday night in a tribute dinner held at the Ma-Yi room of the City Sports Club of Cebu.ALA Promotions Pres and CEO Michael Aldeguer thanked Nietes for the gift of a world title that has meant so much not just for the gym and the company but for the entire nation.
The 32 year old father of two plans to reach the ten year mark as a world champion. His team will also have to decide if they will go after bigger fish and invade the flyweight division. But for now, Nietes (34W-1L-4D,20KO?s) will bask in the accolades that he truly deserves.
LOOKING BACK:
The first time I covered a Donnie Nietes fight was in August of 2006 before he was a world champion. This was a small fight card held in Minglanilla, Cebu and aside from the python around his neck, he brought a few smaller snakes which delighted the children at ringside. Nietes also won all of the ten rounds against Robert Rubillar.
Nietes spoke to the members of the media before dinner started and talked about his tough battles; how he almost collapsed due to heat exhaustion in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico for his win against Mario Rodriguez in 2010 and when he felt the pressure of his hometown crowd in Bacolod when he dethroned Ramon Garcia Hirales for the WBO light flyweight title.
PHOTOS BY DONG SECUYA.
Nietes speaks during Friday night's tribute to him as the Philippines' longest reigning world champion at the City Sports Club in Cebu.
ALA Promotions President Michael Aldeguer speaks as Nietes (seated, right) listens.
Standing: Father and son Antonio and Michael Aldeguer of ALA Promotions; Sitting (L-R): ABS-CBN Narrowcast Head March Ventosa, Broadcaster Ronnie Nathanielsz, ABS-CBN Sports Consultant Peter Musngi and ABS-CBN Head for Integrated Sports Dino Laurena.
L-R: Nietes (C) poses with ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN bosses.
L-R: Arthur Villanueva, AJ Banal, Albert Pagara, Milan Melindo and Genesis Servania.
L-R, seated: Milan Melindo, Genesis Servania, Jason Pagara, Mark Magsayo and Roli Gasca; standing: Peter Musngi and Ronnie Nathanielsz.
Nietes said the Hirales fight was the one fight he felt he was about to lose when he lost steam past the halfway mark but he gathered himself in the championship rounds. I remember leaving Bacolod with Team Hirales inside the airport and listening to their complaints about the scores. I did my scoring from press row and had it 115-113 for Nietes. I also remember a colorful discussion in our hotel about the fight round by round and comparing scores with philboxing editor Dong Secuya, fellow boxing scribe Carlos Costa, and referee Bruce McTavish.
Donnie was not the kind of boxer who can deliver a spectacular KO or a dominant victory but he always finds a way to win. In fact, it was only in his rematch with Moises Fuentes last May 10, 2014 where he scored a dramatic and emphatic ending.
But what makes Nietes a worthy successor to Flash Elorde?s longevity is his humility and work ethic. Outside the ring, he has not changed.
He remains soft spoken and unassuming. In his own way, he has shown us what it takes to be called ?champion?.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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