DONNIE NIETES VOWS TO KEEP TITLE
By Ed de la Vega, DDS
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 29 Jul 2010
Los Angeles, CA:- WBO Minimum Weight World Champion Donnie Nietes of the famed ALA Gym in Cebu just hit town four days ago to wind up his training leading to his title defense in the ?lions den? called Mexico.
Nietes will be training in the next few days at Freddie Roach? Wildcard Gym so he can do some last minute sharpening up against the many gladiators that populate that famous world class
sweat shop in Hollywood.
Nietes is scheduled to tangle with Mexican challenger, Mario Rodriguez at Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico on August 14, 2010. The Nietes-Rodriguez fight is for Nietes? world title, a fight that is theoretically as important as any other world title fight in any weight class.
Sadly however, the fight barely gets ink from foreign journalists and Filipino writers and website blogger as well. For some reason or another, these people would rather spent time writing about that ?money-man? from Michigan who continuously avoids Manny Pacquiao like a dog running away from the local dog catcher.
Such lack of coverage for the lower weight class boxers is totally unfair. But then again as a pundit once said ;- ?Who says there is fairness in boxing??
?There is so little money in the lower weight class that most people find it not worth their while to even write about them. Unless it gets the attention of large outfits like HBO, oftentimes they just pass,? the pundit added.
It is exactly for the above reason that I am bucking the system and writing about the Nietes-Rodriguez fight.
Somebody has to do it particularly because this is not the first time that Nietes is risking his title in Mexico. That alone demonstrates the courage of the man from Bacolod who is part of the ALA Team of boxers. Undoubtedly such courage deserves recognition no matter how modest it can be.
Not too many world champions will agree to defend their titles abroad, let alone in Mexico where many alleges that unless the out-of-town boxer scores a KO, his chances of winning are greatly diminished.
That statement may not be totally true but it adds credence to the fact that such talks do not rattle Nietes at all. ?It?s just me and him on the ring when the bell rings. The better man will win?, he said. ?I am the champion and I intend to bring my title back home with me," he added.
Team Nietes leaves for Mexico on August 11th in time for the pre-fight hoopla leading to the big night on August 14th.
Top photo: World champion Donnie 'Ahas' Nietes unleashes a right straight over sparring partner David Clark, a US Olympic alternate in 2004 & 2008 who just turned pro as a bantamweight. Photo by Dr Ed de la Vega.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ed de la Vega, DDS.
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