NIETES FLIES BACK HOME AMID GLOWING REVIEWS OF HIS PERFORMANCE
By Dong Secuya
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 27 Feb 2018
CEBU ? Donnie 'Ahas' Nietes, the legendary Filipino boxer who has flown under the radar of mainstream boxing fans most of his career, left Los Angeles Monday night (Tuesday in Manila) to return back home after his scintillating performance Saturday night (Sunday in Manila) at The Forum in Inglewood, California where he successfully defended his IBF world flyweight title by stopping mandatory challenger Juan Carlos Reveco of Argentina in the 7th round that was broadcast on HBO to millions of North American viewers allowing the casual fans to final see the crafty master boxer perform in the ring.
Nietes who traveled together with borthers/trainers Edmund and Edito Villamor, took a Cathay Pacific flight from LAX and is expected to arrive in Cebu by noon on Wednesday, Feb. 28 after a short stopover in Hong Kong.
Nietes, the Philippines' longest reigning world champion who had never lost in 17 of world title fights since 2007, got glowing reviews from boxing experts. The HBO broadcast team of Jim Lampley, Max Kellerman and boxing great Andre Ward were all superlatives about Nietes's craftiness and maturity inside the ring. Kellerman even compared Nietes's high level skill to Andre Ward who himself dissected Nietes' very subtle and highly refined technical skill. After that short right by Nietes that landed squarely to the face of Reveco near the end of the 6th round that wobbled Reveco back to his corner, Ward correctly called that ?Nietes will now put the pressure on Reveco and he will now be more committed to his punches to finish his opponent? which was what Nietes actually did.
Photos by Jhay Otamias / PhilBoxing.com.
L-R: Edito Villamor, Edmund Villamor and Nietes at the check-in counter of Cathay Pacific Airlines at Los Angeles Airport Monday night.
Nietes puts on the finishing touches against Reveco.
Writing at Boxingscene for his weekend review, former Ring editor Michael Rosenthal had this to say about Nietes:
MOST IMPRESSIVE
Donnie Nietes: I think I speak for a lot of people when I say this: I knew Nietes was good ? but not THAT good. Nietes might?ve been the best fighter on the Sor Rungvisai-Estrada card.
I don?t want to get carried away given Nietes? opponent, Juan Carlos Reveco, who isn?t in the class of the elite fighters on the Forum card. He?s a solid, experienced veteran with an impressive record (39-4, 19 KOs), though.
And Nietes overwhelmed him. The 35-year-old Filipino is the opposite of flashy but boxes sublimely and punches hard, as Reveco discovered. Nietes, always calm and cool, is extremely difficult to hit cleanly (Reveco barely touched him) and his punches are both precise and damaging.
Nietes relieved Reveco of his senses with a straight right moments before the bell to end Round 6, as the Argentine staggered to his corner. The fight continued but not for long, as Nietes put a shaky Reveco down again and the fight was stopped. Official time: 53 seconds into Round 7.
I don?t know about you but I believe strongly that Nietes is another fighter who deserves consideration for pound-for-pound lists. He?s that good.
Nietes hasn?t lost a fight since he was narrowly outpointed by Angky Angkotta in 2004, when Angkotta weighed in at six pounds over the 108-pound limit.
The only recent blemish on his record was a majority draw with Moises Fuentes in 2013, a disappointment he avenged by KO the following year.
He?s a remarkable 16-0-1 in major title fights.
And, of course, there are more to come. He called out Gonzalez and Sor Rungvisai after his victory, meaning he is willing to move up to 115 pounds even though he has fought only three times as a full-fledged 112-pounder.
Gonzalez was an aging little fighter who moved up too high in weight, which should serve as an example for Nietes. I have a feeling Nietes could handle it, though. I think he could give Sor Rungvisai all kinds of trouble.
I hope I have the opportunity to see if I?m right or wrong.
Nietes celebrates after his knockout win over Reveco Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, California.
ESPN's Dan Rafael had this to say:
Manny Pacquiao, of course, is one of the greatest fighters in boxing history and sits atop the list of the all-time best from the Philippines with 1960s junior lightweight world champion Gabriel "Flash" Elorde and 1920s flyweight champion Pancho Villa behind him.
But Donnie Nietes continued to make his case that he belongs in the conversation right behind Pacquiao as he retained his flyweight world title in a dominating seventh-round knockout of former two-division titlist and mandatory challenger Juan Carlos Reveco...
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