SNAKE EYES: NIETES TARGETS MEXICO
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 06 Feb 2009
The ancient Aztecs of Mexico have a legend about a feathered serpent known as Quetzalcoatl. This deity ? a combination of a rattlesnake and a colorful bid known as a quetzal- was thought to push the clouds, bring rain and fertility into the land. When the Spaniards landed in Mexico, the Aztec Emperor Montezuma thought they were Quetzalcoatl and his entourage thus hastening the fall of his empire.
This February 28, Mexico City will be treated to another invader and a different kind of serpent ? the Snake of the ALA gym, reigning WBO 105 lb. World champ Donnie ?Ahas? Nietes.
He will be making his second defense of the WBO minimumweight world title he won last September 2007 by unanimous decision over Pornsawan Kratingdaenggym in Cebu City. His opponent is a Mexican and second ranked contender by the WBO named Erik Ramirez.
The 26 year old Ramirez has a record of 25 W ? 5L ? 1D with 19 KO's. He has won regional belts like the WBO Latino minimumweight title ( UD 10 Jose Ortiz) and the WBC Fecarbox minimumweight tile (KO 2 Luis Perez)..
The fight is scheduled to take place at the Auditorio Guelaguetza in Oaxaca, Mexico.
The record of Ramirez in boxrec.com shows that all of his fights except one have been held in Mexico. Another interesting fact is that he lost his first pro bout to Edgar Sosa by 3rd round TKO. This is the same Sosa that beat Juanito Rubillar (TKO 7) recently and Brian Viloria (MD 12) in title bouts.
Michael Aldeguer stated in a press conference held early last January that fighting in Mexico is risky but it is something they have to do so that Nietes can have recognition and respect outside of the Philippines.
The Ring magazine's website ranks Nietes only number 7 among the world's 105 lb. boxers. Ex-champ Florante Condes is even ranked higher at number 4. Their top ranked minimumweight or straweight is WBA champ Roman Gonzales of Nicaragua. This is the same Gonzales who beat Yukka Gejon by 1st round KO in 2007.
Replying to my e-mail inquiry regarding Nietes? training, the ALA staff stated that Nietes will be training in the Wild Card Gym but he will not be personally handled by Freddie Roach and the legendary trainer will not be in the Filipino?s corner for the Mexican bout. But the ALA coaching staff who will be accompanying Nietes will be asking Roach for pointers. He will be doing some light sparring there for two weeks. Nietes has been sparring here with Marjohn Yap who has a very similar style of Eric Ramirez. Other than Yap, Nietes spars with Yukka Gejon, Milan Melindo and Rollen del Castillo. His departure date for the U.S. is Feb. 7. They hope Nietes can also have sessions with Rodel Mayol once he is there.
As a career move this fight will be a roll of the dice for Nietes. Let us hope he won?t get ?snake eyes? - getting only one pip on each die which resembles a pair of eyes and is a sign of bad luck.
Hurdling Ramirez will only be the first step in the road to worldwide recognition. He will have to continue to make noise abroad by transforming into a fearsome road warrior in the tradition of Luisito Espinosa, Gerry Penalosa and Manny Pacquiao.
But the 26 year old Nietes (23 W (KO 14) - L 1 - D 3 ) has more than just snakes and luck. He is a very talented boxer but also very underrated. Too bad he won?t be able to bring his pet pythons to Mexico. I?m sure that would have grabbed the interest of the Mexican press. He has predicted a knockout. That is sure to grab their attention.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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