NIETES-PALICTE HEADS TO THE FORUM IN L.A. ON 'SUPERFLY 3'
By Dong Secuya
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 28 Jul 2018
CEBU ? The all-Filipino WBO world super flyweight championship between highly decorated top-ten pound for pound fighter Donnie 'Ahas' Nietes and No. 2 ranked contender Aston Palicte will take place at The Forum in Inglewood, California on the HBO-televised 'Supefly 3' on Sep. 8, Nietes' promoter Michael Aldeguer has confirmed to Philboxing.
?Looks like Donnie [Nietes] will be part of Superfly 3 on September 8 at The Forum in LA,? Aldeguer told Philboxing in a text message.
Although 360 Promotions' Tom Loeffler, the promoter of 'Superfly 3', has announced two days ago the inclusion of the Nietes-Palicte matchup to the event, Aldeguer refused to categorically confirm it, telling Dan Rafael of ESPN, ?We have started negotiations for Donnie to be part of Superfly 3. We are hoping to finalize the deal with Tom and HBO for Sept 8 soonest.?
Aldeguer also stated earlier that he had Cebu and the Middle East remain as possible venues for the fight but all of that now seems to be settled as Nietes vs Palicte, the second all-Filipino world championship fight this year, is definitely headed to Los Angeles.
Nietes's stellar performance in his last outing on HBO on 'Superfly 2' where he stopped former world champion Juan Carlos Reveco of Argentina in the 7th round to successfully defend his IBF world flyweight crown, was what drove Leoffler and HBO to have Nietes returned to the network.
?[Nietes-Palicte is] definitely one of the fights we want to have on Superfly 3. Donnie had a great win on Superfly 2 so it makes sense to bring him back,? Loefller told ESPN.
Donnie Nietes dominates Juan Carlos Reveco during their world title fight on Superfly 2 last Feb. 24 at The Forum in Inglewood, California.
?I'm just glad Donnie has finally been recognized internationally after all his accomplishments,? Aldeguer told Philboxing. ?He had a great performance on Superfly 2. Hopefully he follows it up on Sep. 8 as this is what he has been waiting for.?
Popular Mexican two-division world champion Juan Francisco Estrada (36-3, 25 KOs) will headline the Superfly 3 card as he takes on knockout artist compatriot Felipe Orucuta (36-4-0, 30KOs). Opening the 3-fight HBO telecast is a ten-round fight between three-division world champion Kazuto Ioka (22-1, 13KOs) of Japan who faces two-time world title challenger McWilliams Arroyo (17-3, 14 KOs) of Puerto Rico.
The super flyweight division remains one of the hottest divisions with many of the big names in the smaller weights are still in contention. Thailand star Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, the WBC superfly title holder, who disposed Korea's Young Gil Bae in the first round last July 21 could return in the US soon for a blockbuster matchup. Roman Gonzalez, although twice-beaten by Rungvisai, is still a force in the division and has been reported to face Moises Fuentes on the undercard of the Canelo-Golovkin rematch on Sep. 15. The IBF champion is Jerwin Ancajas of the Philippines who is probably a win away against a big name to become a full-blown star and the WBA champion is undefeated Kal Yafai (24-0, 15KOs) of Britain who also waits for his chance to unify the titles.
Nietes (41-1-4, 23KOs) who has been training in Los Angeles the last two months, will be aiming for a championship belt in the 4th division after capturing world titles in the minimumweight, junior flyweight and flyweight that saw him became the longest running world champion in Philippine history. Now at 36 years old and fighting as a super flyweight for the first time, the question for Murcia, Negros Occidental born Nietes is whether he will carry his power and smarts in the heavier division.
Aston Palicte's last out was against Jose Alfredo Rodriguez of Mexico who he stopped in the 5th round on Dec. 8, 2017 at the Round Rock Sports Center in Round Rock, Texas.
He will be put to test against the younger, heftier and taller Aston Palicte (24-2-0, 20KOs) who was born in Murcia's neighbor Bago City, historically a source of many outstanding amateur boxers in the country. At 5-foot-7-inches and with a 68? reach, the 27-year-old Palicte has a decided advantage against the 5'3? Nietes who has a 65? reach.
If Nietes, who defied the odds many times in his career, pulls this one off, then ?the sky's the limit? for him according to Aldeguer.
?If he wins his 4th division world title, the sky is the limit for him in 2019 as he will finally get the biggest fights of his career,? Aldeguer said.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Dong Secuya.
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