Master technician back to work
By Joaquin Henson
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 05 Apr 2021
It didn’t seem like Donnie Nietes hadn’t fought in over two years as the former WBO minimumweight, WBO lightflyweight, IBF flyweight and WBO superflyweight champion displayed the polished skills of a master technician in dominating Colombia’s Pablo Carrillo to score a unanimous 10-round decision at the Caesar’s Palace Bluewaters in Dubai early yesterday morning (Manila time).
Nietes, 38, dictated the tempo from the onset and kept the action in the middle of the ring where he established control at a distance. Carrillo, 32, never got into a rhythm even as he repeatedly tried to rush Nietes who proved elusive with his shifty footwork. Twice, Nietes staggered Carrillo, once with a right hook that sent the Colombian back on his heels in the seventh and another with a shot to the body in the last round, causing him to showboat by shaking his hands as if the punch had no effect.
Nietes, who hasn’t lost in his last 36 outings since a disputed hometown setback to Indonesia’s Angky Angkota by a split decision in 2004, was crafty as he was methodical in taking Carrillo to school. His defense was air-tight. Carrillo’s power right hook often landed on Nietes’ left glove raised high to protect the chin. Nietes’ head movement, bobbing and weaving didn’t give Carrillo an easy target. Nietes also bombarded Carrillo with a variety of punches, mixing jabs, straights, uppercuts, overhands and hooks to fluster the Colombian who had won nine of his last 12, including five in a row. Carrillo’s claim to fame was racking up three victories in Japan, one over Filipino Donny Mabao, in 2015-16. The win raised Nietes' record to 43-1-5, with 23 KOs. Carrillo's mark dipped to 25-8-1, with 16 KOs.
Although badly outclassed, Carrillo put up a gallant stand. In the sixth, he caught Nietes with a left hook to the jaw but it was far from devastating. While Nietes threw combinations, Carrillo chose to try landing one big bomb but never came close to detonate. The decision was unanimous as judge Ferenc Budai of Hungary scored it 99-91, judge Zoltan Enyedi of Hungary had it 98-92 and judge Giulio Piras of Italy saw it 96-95, all for Nietes who took the vacant WBO International superflyweight crown. Compubox stats showed Nietes connected on 97 of 425 punches compared to Carrillo’s 81 of 416. GAB chairman Baham Mitra said, “We are happy that Donnie is back … we hope to see more of him soon … this just shows that the Filipino boxers, even coming from a long break, are as good as the best.” IBF superflyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas, watching on TV from Los Angeles, said, “magandang performance ni Nietes, kaya niya sina (Juan Francisco) Estrada at (Chocolatito) Gonzalez, malaking pag-asa at super galing niya.”
It was a rousing comeback for Nietes who signed a managerial contract with MTK (Mack The Knife) Global and a promotional deal with D4G of Dubai last October. MP Promotions head Sean Gibbons said, “I’ll walk him right into a world title fight … I have a feeling Nietes will fight for the title this year in an amazing return.” Nietes pounded out a split 12-round decision over Japan’s Kazuto Ioka to win the vacant WBO superflyweight crown in Macau in December 2018 then relinquished the throne to avoid battling Aston Palicte in a rematch, not because he was afraid but because he didn't want to fight a countryman again. Ioka went on to beat Palicte for the vacant title and has since repulsed two challengers. Now, Nietes could face Ioka once more to regain the belt.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Joaquin Henson.
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