SPORTS SHORTS 129: DONNIE NIETES IS BACK AS WORLD CONTENDER AT WBC NO. 6, WBO NO. 3, WBA NO. 10, BOXREC NO. 7 AND TBRB NO. 5
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 13 May 2021
Four-division world champion Donnie Nietes enters into the top 10 of three of the four major world boxing sanctioning bodies. This after the 38-year-old Nietes had an impressive ring return with a convincing unanimous decision over Pablo Carrillo of Colombia at the Caesars Palace in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on April 3, 2021.
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The World Boxing Council (WBC) ranks him at No. 6, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) at No. 3 and the World Boxing Association (WBA) at No. 10 at the super flyweight division.
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The Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (TBRB) also ranks Nietes at No. 5 and BoxRec at No. 7 in the super flyweight/junior bantamweight division.
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Nietes’ longtime trainer Edmund Villamor told SunStar Cebu that they are getting close at a world title shot with the world rankings.
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Nietes was unranked in all four major world boxing sanctioning bodies having been inactive for more than two years.
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In his comeback fight Nietes didn’t show any signs of deterioration and pummeled Carrillo, who was at that time ranked No. 10 by the WBA at super flyweight, all throughout the fight with his tough and solid punches.
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Ferenc Budai of Budapest, Hungary scored it so close at 96-95. Zoltan Enyedi also of Budapest, Hungary saw it 98-92, while Giulio Piras of Manziana, Lazio, Italy had it 99-91, both are dominating slates for Nietes.
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Nietes aims at WBC, WBA Super and The Ring super flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada, but he will have to wait for a longer time since Estrada is set for a trilogy with Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez.
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With many fans dissatisfied with the decision during their rematch, the WBC has decided the two men must fight once more for Estrada’s titles.
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Sor Rungvisai is now ready to face Carlos Cuadras with the arrangement that the winner of that fight will face the winner of Gonzalez-Estrada 3.
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“If given the chance, we want the WBC because that’s the fight that Donnie has been dreaming about,” said Villamor. “The problem there is that they (Estrada and Gonzalez) are having a rematch and that Sor Rungvisai is still next.”
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Villamor thinks the best alternative is to fight for the WBO title, which currently is held by Kazuto Ioka, who Nietes defeated in December 31, 2018 by split decision and became the third Asian to win world titles in at least four weight classes.
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But Ioka reportedly had tested positive for cannabis in December when he defended the title for the second time on New Year’s Eve in 2019 by beating Japanese compatriot and previously unbeaten Kosei Tanaka in an eighth-round technical knockout. Ioka became the first Japanese to be crowned four division champion.
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The Japan Boxing Commission consulted with the police after its mandatory test came back positive. The JBC said it will release a statement in the coming days.
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The IBF has not updated its rankings, wherein the current champion is fellow Filipino Jerwin Ancajas. But Nietes is also expected to be ranked as soon as the organization releases its updated list.
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WBC Ratings
Champion - Juan Francisco Estrada
1. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai
2. Roman Gonzalez
3. Carlos Cuadras
4. Pedro Guevara
5. Fernando Martinez
6. Donnie Nietes
7. Andrew Moloney
8. Kosei Tanaka
9. Norbelto Jimenez
10. Gideon Buthelezi
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WBA Ratings
Super champion - Juan Francisco Estrada
World champion - Joshua Franco
Gold champion - Mikhail Aloyan
1. Roman Gonzalez
2. Sirichai Thaiyen
3. Andrew Moloney
4. Franklin Gonzalez
5. Francisco Rodriguez
6. Norbelto Jimenez
7. Kal Yafai
8. Israel Gonzalez
9. Prince Patel
10. Donnie Nietes
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WBO Ratings
Champion - Kazuto Ioka
1. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai
2. Francisco Rodriguez Jr.
3. Donnie Nietes
4. Roman Gonzalez
5. Yanga Sigqibo
6. Pedro Guevara
7. Jarico O'Quinn
8. Kosei Tanaka
9. Prince Patel
10. Charlie Edwards
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BoxRec Ratings
1 Juan Francisco Estrada
2 Roman Gonzalez
3 Kazuto Ioka
4 Srisaket Sor Rungvisai
5 Jerwin Ancajas
6 Kosei Tanaka
7 Donnie Nietes
8 Joshua Franco
9 Ryoji Fukunaga
10 Andrew Moloney
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TBRB Ratings
Champion - Juan Francisco Estrada
1. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai
2. Roman Gonzalez
3. Kazuto Ioka
4. Jerwin Ancajas
5. Donnie Nietes
6. Khalid Yafai
7. Joshua Franco
8. Francisco Rodriguez, Jr.
9. Andrew Moloney
10. Carlos Cuadras
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Jade Bornea is rated No. 15 by WBC and No. 6 by IBF, KJ Cataraja is rated No. 12 by WBO. Jerwin Ancajas is also ranked No. 4 by The Ring and ESPN.
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Meldrick Taylor of USA won the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic gold medal in the featherweight class. He became professional world champion winning the IBF super lightweight (1988-1990) and WBA Welterweight (1991-1992) titles.
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Andre Ward of USA won the 2004 Athens Olympic gold medal in the light heavyweight class. He became professional world champion winning the WBA super middleweight title in 2009.
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The Los Angeles Lakers (40-30) narrowly defeated the Houston Rockets 124-122. The Portland Trail Blazers can secure at least the sixth seed by winning one of their two remaining games, a road game against the Phoenix Suns, before a home game against the Denver Nuggets.
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The Dallas Mavericks also need just one win from their remaining two games or a Lakers loss to secure at least a sixth-place finish. They host the Toronto Raptors before visiting the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have already been eliminated from the playoffs.
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The only scenario in which the Lakes can escape the Play-In Tournament is to win both of their remaining games on the road against the Indiana Pacers and the New Orleans Pelicans and hope that at least one of the Blazers and Mavericks lose both of their remaining games.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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