THE ALA BOYS ARE IN TOWN!
By Ed de la Vega, DDS
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 05 May 2018
Jonas Sultan and Donnie Nietes, accompanied by their trainer, Edmund Villamor, touched down in LA moments ago to meet their fate that will decide their future in the sweet science.
Jonas Sultan with all of his 17 fights that includes 14 wins, three losses and 9 KO?s is challenging the current IBF Super Flyweight title holder, Jerwin Ancajas a holder of an impressive 29-1-1, 20KO record.
The two Filipino fighters are exchanging leather at rural Fresno, California at the Save Mart Center. Their fight is the first time in more 90 years that two Filipinos are meeting for a boxing world title.
This is Sultan?s first trip to the USA and without doubt he plans to take full advantage of it. ?Ok lang po ang underdog para walang pressure,? said Sultan. (It's ok to be the underdog so there is no pressure in me)
?Maaga kami para maka-adjust nang mabuti sa panahon si Sultan,? said Coach Edund Villamor. (We came early so we can adjust to the climate)
Sultan will train at the famed Wildcard Gym of Freddie Roach something that may later create a semblance of awkwardness as Jerwin Ancajas reportedly will train there as well. But there are two separate training rings at the Wildcard so conceivably, Sultan will train at the upper floor where all boxers train and Ancajas being the champion, may be using the lower floor training that is reserved for ?special people?.
The Ancajas-Sultan fight was moved to Fresno in a bid to attract more Filipino fans, something that this writer thinks will be hard to happen because most Filipino boxing fans are from LA and I doubt they will bother to drive three hours to Fresno just to see a fight. The fight would have been far better if its held at LA where there are several venues that can house anywhere from 5T to 15T fans or more. Selland Arena at Fresno holds 11, 000 for boxing.
Donnie Nietes on the other hand came for an early training with the possibility that he may meet a fellow Filipino in the near future, Aston Palicte for the WBO title. He will train at Wildcard as well, also a possible training site for Aston Palicte.
?Ok lang kung si Aston ang kalaban ko para kahit sino manalo, Filipino pa rin and champion? he said (It's ok to fight a fellow Filipino so that whoever wins, the belt will go to a Filipino.)
Nietes and Sultan are both trained by Edmund Villamor and his brother Edito. They are from the famed ALA boxing of Don Antonio Aldeguer in Cebu.
Photo (L-R): Trainer Edmund Villamor, Jonas Sultan and Donnie Nietes upon their arrival at the Los Angeles international airport Friday night. Photo by Jhay Otamias.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ed de la Vega, DDS.
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