DE LA VEGA: A NIETES-PALICTE REMATCH? I DON'T THINK SO!
By Ed de la Vega, DDS
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 10 Sep 2018
Donnie Nietes and Aston Palicte, two of Philippines? world class super flyweights, gave it their all at a fight at the Forum on 360 Promotions? Superfly3 Series last Saturday night.
Both fighters gave their best and each one deserved a victory.
But alas, one judge scored a draw. He had no balls to call it the way most boxing pundits saw the fight or even the other two judges that scored the fight and whose opinions varied. In fact, some thought he ?went to the bathroom during the fight? and missed a few rounds so in the end to save his butt, he called the fight a draw.
He could have scored it 120-108 for all I care, but scoring it a draw was just plain wrong because it wasn?t!
It would not have mattered which fighter he could have scored as the winner. But what he did is a great cop out. A ?draw? is like kissing your sister. It does not matter at all! More importantly, it leaves a sour taste in one?s mouth!
The split draw decision that was rendered as a result of one judge asleep on the job was totally unfair.
It was unfair to Donnie Nietes and it was unfair for Aston Palicte. More importantly, it was unfair to the families of both fighters who had to endure the absence of their husbands as they trained for the world title fight. It is likewise unfair to the trainers and everyone else involved in the fight.
The ?draw? is awful. It brought back many bad memories. It added fuel to the already stinky refutation of boxing and some controversial decisions that many refer to as ?corruption in boxing?.
Too bad the poor boxers and fans have no choice but to live with it. That is boxing!
Based on the very controversial result some are now calling for a re-match to see who really is the better fighter.
Easier said than done!
A few are even saying that it should be held in the Philippines to give the fans a great taste of boxing.
Unfortunately, I believe that a rematch is far from happening unless someone with deep pockets in the country will come out and pay both fighters more or at least similar to what they got paid by 360 Promotions.
There maybe such people in the Philippines. The question is are they willing to invest their resources just to satisfy boxing fans?
Like someone said: ?Ano ito basketball?? (What is this basketball?) an obvious sly insinuation to the Filipino unconditional love for basketball.
Other than the money to be made by the fighters, what good will a rematch do for Philippine boxing?
What I really love to see is for both Donnie Nietes and Aston Palicte face the other fighters involved in Superfly3 or any of the current great super flyweights.
Here is my dream super flyweight fight card:
A Donnie Nietes vs. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai for the WBC super flyweight title will be a great beginning.
Then on the co-main event, an Aston Palicte vs. Khalid Yafai for the WBA title.
And just for good measures to round out a great fight card, add Jerwin Ancajas vs. Roman ?Chocolatito? Gonzales for the IBF title. They can dubbed this as ?Filipino Superflys vs. the World?
The above will be a dream fight card for Filipino boxing fans as well.
But it will simply remain a dream because boxing is business first and entertainment second. Giving fans the entertainment they craved for is just secondary!
Many fight fans forget that!
Promoters don?t really give a damn about fighters. They are mostly concerned about the money they will make for themselves first and foremost!
Maybe I am wrong but if you don?t believe me, just research the number of fighters dropped by the promoters the moment they start losing fights.
The Nietes- Palicte fight from my point of view polarized the Filipino boxing fans. That is good or bad depending on how one will look at it.
Certainly, we don?t need any more of that. What we need is seeing Filipino fighters fight other fighters from different countries. That would surely give Filipino fans something to cheer about and solidity the Filipino fans behind a Filipino fighter.
A Nietes-Palicte rematch? Not really, but more importantly, what for?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ed de la Vega, DDS.
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