?HALL OF FAMER? NIETES LEADS 35th SAC-SMB BOXING AWARDEES
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 07 Mar 2017
CEBU CITY ? It has never been easy for a boxer to grab the attention of fans and sportswriters on the island known as the boxing capital of the Philippines. But for the past eight years, Donnie ?Ahas? Nietes slowly separated himself from the stars and the pretenders and elevated himself into the pantheon of Filipino boxing greats.
The multi Cebu Sports Awards athlete of the year and major award winner was given another accolade when he was exalted into the Sportswriters Association of Cebu-San Miguel Beer (SAC-SMB) sports Hall of Fame.
The 34 year old former janitor reigned as the WBO minimumweight champion from 2007 to 2011 and continued as the WBO light flyweight king from 2011 till his last successful defense in 2016. Nietes (39W-1L-4D, 22KO?s) was also recognized as the linear champion in the 108lb division by Ring magazine in 2014.
He is now campaigning as a flyweight and will get his chance at a triple crown this April against Thai Komgrich Nantapech for the vacant IBF flyweight title.
The major awardees in boxing who shared the stage with Nietes underscored the quality of the boxers based in Cebu ? former IBF flyweight champ John Riel Casimero, WBO bantamweight world champion Marlon Tapales and Nietes? stablemate IBF interim world light flyweight titlist Milan Melindo.
There were nine more professional boxers who received citations for winning regional belts ? Jhack Tepora, Kenny Demecillo, Mark Magsayo, Neil John Tabanao, Jessie Espinas, Jason Pagara, Jimmy Paypa, Arthur Villanueva and Jonas Sultan. Eduardo Gimenez, Jr was the lone awardee for amateur boxing.
The 35th Sportswriters Association of Cebu-San Miguel Beer (SAC-SMB) sports awards ceremony was held Tuesday at SM City Cebu with Gilas and SMB center June Mar Fajardo winning the SAC-SMB Athlete of the Year Award.
Photo: Two-division world champion Donnie Nietes (L) displays his SAC-SMB Hall of Fame trophy as he poses with fellow awardee Sportsman of the Year Wilfred Steven Uytengsu, Jr. during the SMB-SAC awarding Tuesday afternoon at the SM-City in Cebu.
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