NIETES OUT-BOXES SALGUERO TO RETAIN WORLD TITLE; A NEW STAR IS BORN IN SERVANIA
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 03 Jun 2012
WBO junior flyweight champion Donnie ?Ahas? Nietes out-boxed Mexican challenger Felipe Salguero to win a unanimous twelve round decision and retain his title before a good crowd at the plush Resorts World Hotel in Manila, Saturday night.
Nietes was making the first defense of the title he won in a close fight against another Mexican, Ramon Garcia Hirales. He had Salguero in trouble in round three with a series of overhand rights and uppercuts that rocked the challenger but played it safe and didn?t take any chances by going for a knockout.
Salguero, ranked No. 7 in the world by the WBO continued to come forward but often got stopped in his tracks by some precise counter-punching by Nietes who opened up a cut on the challenger?s left eyebrow in the eighth round.
It was clear that the almost eight month break since his last fight showed some ring rust in Nietes whose timing was sometimes off while his concern about not fading in the championship rounds also made the champion a little more cautious.
However, Nietes showed a great ability to slip punches that often saw Salguero lunging and hitting nothing.
All three judges scored the fight for Nietes but the margins were closer than it seemed to the ABS-CBN television commentators as well as ringside fight fans. Two judges scored the fight 116-112 for Nietes while the third judge had it at an even closer 115-113.
Milan ?Metodico? Melindo added the newly minted WBO International flyweight championship to his trophy room with a spectacular 1st round knockout over former world champion Jesus Geles of Colombia whose being three pounds over the limit was no help at all.
Melindo caught Geles with a ripping right hook over the lanky ex-champion?s left and then buried some vicious left and right hooks to the body that dropped the Colombian and had him grimacing in pain. But he gamely beat the count and told refereed Danrex Tapdasan he could continue, but not for long as Melindo ripped a flurry of body shots that sent Geles down and in no position to continue.
Referee Tapdasan waved it off at 2:21 of the opening round.
The win placed the undefeated Melindo (27-1, 11 KO?s) who is the WBO No.1 ranked fighter on a collision course with reigning flyweight champion Brian Viloria also of the Philippines in what could well be a historic first in terms of two Filipinos battling for a world title in what will surely be an enthralling fight.
In the most compelling fight of the night which was telecast ?live? on SkyCable HD, The Filipino Channel largely for overseas Filipino communities and on ABS-CBN Channel 2 on Sunday morning with an afternoon replay on Studio 23, undefeated 20 year old Genesis Servania scored a sensational 12th round TKO over the cocky Mexican Genaro ?Poblanito? Garcia to win the vacant WBO International Silver title.
The real ?Poblanito? Garcia had wondered aloud why such a young fighter was matched against an experienced three time world title challenger who had beaten five world champions and vowed to ?take him (Servania) to school? only to discover that the promising youngster from the famed ALA Gym was much better than he thought.
Servania nailed Garcia with some perfectly timed hooks to the body behind a stinging jab and vicious uppercuts and from the opening bell showed he was not awed by the reputation or the bravado of Garcia who had predicted he would win by a knockout.
WBC president Don Jose Sulaiman sent us a message after we forwarded a story on the fight to him in which he said ?A new star is born!! I knew that Poblanito Garcia was going to offer a hell of a fight as he always does. I am very happy that it was such a great fight.?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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