NIETES, GORRES HOG MEDIA ATTENTION IN NAYARIT
By Dong Secuya
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 09 Sep 2009
Tepic, Nayarit -- Being the only boxer participants who are in town so far for the huge Mexican Independence Day Latin Fury XI event this Saturday (Sunday in Manila), WBO minimumweight champion Donnie Nietes and bantamweight contender Z Gorres of the Philippines get all the media attention in this boxing-crazy Mexican state.
Nietes and Gorres were invited Tuesday morning by Radio Sensacion 93.7 hosted by Jerson de Leon to talk about their chances against their opponents Manuel Vargas and Cruz Carbajal respectively. Latin beauty Anabel Garcia Lizarraga of the Nayarit government acted as interpreter in the lively interview where Nietes and Gorres were asked by De Leon if they want to drink Tecate, the popular Mexican drink, to which Gorres replied, "Yes, after the fight this Saturday."
The two Filipino fighters were then covered by Mexican network giant TV Azteca, tasked to broadcast the event in North America, as they worked out at Hotel Fray Jupinero Gym at 2 p.m. TV Azteca followed Nietes and Gorres as they took an early dinner of bread, chicken soup, salads and fruits at 5 p.m.
Nietes weighed 106 lbs while Gorres was 119 lbs Tuesday as the duo were only 1 lb over the limit each 3 days before the weighin. "We are now just trying to maintain their weights," trainer Edmund Villamor informed. "That is good for them because they will not go hungry days before the weighin."
Later in the evening, Nietes and Gorres were fetched by the local government TV station where Gorres' popularity was evident when he was met by a bunch of young Mexican boxers who posed for photos with him calling him 'idol'. The two then proceeded to TV RTN for another interview session.
Top photo (L-R): Gorres, Villamor and Nietes at the downtown plaza in Nayarit.
Gorres (L) and Nietes (R) pose with Nayarit's Radio Sensacion host Jerson de Leon (C) after Tuesday morning's interview.
Anabel Garcia Lizarraga of the Nayarit government was untiring in looking for the needs of Team ALA.
The blockbuster Saturday event jointly promoted by Top Rank and Zanfer Promotions in association with the Nayarit government to be held at the 4,000-capacity El Palenque de la Feria was already sold according to Lizarraga. "We received ticket requests as far as Los Angeles and Las Vegas and of course all over Mexico. This event is huge," The amiable Mexican-French Lizaragga said.
Mexican poster boy Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr will go up against Jason LeHoullier of Maine, USA in the evening's main event while the Donnie Nietes vs Manuel Vargas and Fernando Montiel vs Alejandro Valdez, both world championship fights, round up the TV bouts.
Notes... What's in a name? Gorres has been addressed here as 'Zeta Gorres' wherever he goes while Banal is called 'AJuta'. 'Zeta' is how the Spanish language pronounce the alphabet 'Z' while 'Juta' is how they say 'J'. Expect the spanish announcer to introduce Gorres on fight night as 'Zzeettaaaaaaaaaa Gooorres'. We might get used to it when Gorres keeps on appearing on Mexican TV. Trainer Edito Villamor had arrived Tuesday evening in Nayarit after a 7-hour trip from Los Angeles to Guadalajara and then to here.
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