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Donnie Nietes: Minimumweight Means Maximum Wait for Attention By Ryan Songalia PhilBoxing.com Wed, 11 Aug 2010  For the fourth defense of his world title, WBO minimumweight champion Donnie "Ahas" Nietes will return to familiar surroundings. No, the Bacolod City, Philippines native will not live out his dream of a hometown title defense. Instead, the 28-year-old Filipino will defend against challenger Mario Rodriguez this Saturday at the Luis Estrada Medina Stadium in Rodriguez's backyard of Sinaloa, Mexico. While most fighters dread the prospect of competing in their opponent's home country, Nietes has flourished abroad, winning a pair of decisions in his two title defenses in Mexico last year. Overall, he has remained unbeaten since 2004, running his record to 26-1-3 (15 KO). The Rodriguez defense - which is being promoted by Erik "El Terrible" Morales' Box Latino and Sampson Boxing LLC and televised by GMA 7 in the Philippines - is unlikely to raise eyebrows among boxing fans seeking clarity in an unassuming weight class. In his most recent effort, the 10-5-3 (7 KO) Rodriguez drew even with a fighter whose record was 1-3 two months ago. He has only managed a single victory over a fighter with a double digit win total. The most experienced fighter Rodriguez has faced thus far had 23 fights; none of them wins. "He's a typical Mexican fighter," said Edito "Ala" Villamor, assistant trainer to Nietes and brother of head trainer Edmund Villamor. "This is a very hard fight for us and we'll try our best to win this fight. The record means nothing; he's a good fighter." If a pair of title defenses in Mexico fails to qualify him as the heir to Glen Johnson's "Road Warrior" title, his humble beginnings draw parallels to Matt Damon's character in Good Will Hunting. Nietes, who had dabbled with amateur boxing as a teenager, took up employment at the famed ALA Boxing Gym as a janitor at age 19. His uncle, former domestic contender Dan Nietes, was one of the many pro fighters that called the Cebu City gym home. Nietes soon resumed training at his new job site, finishing a 40+ amateur bout career with only three defeats. While stablemates Rey Bautista and AJ Banal commanded most of the headlines, it was Nietes who ultimately became the gym's first world champion after upsetting previously unbeaten Thai Pornsawan Porpramook in September of 2007. The one-time custodian had become the boxing academy's star pupil. Still, with the absence of big money opportunities in the sport's lightest weight division, Nietes has had to search far and long for opportunities to make money. "It is so hard because at that weight, there are no fights in Las Vegas," said Dennis Canete, Vice President of ALA Promotions. "It's either you will fight in Japan or Mexico or some other Latin areas." "People in America don't pay attention to the lighter divisions," added Edito Villamor, who once challenged Ricardo Lopez for a world title. "Only the big guys become popular in America. But Donnie is near there. If he defends it three more times, maybe he'll get more attention from the people." Due to the difficulty of promoting a minimumweight fighter - even one with championship credentials - the promotional outfit is no longer in the market for 105 pound fighters. ALA's other prominent minimumweight Milan Melindo has already ascended to 108 pounds despite winning several meaningful bouts at his previous weight division. Though Nietes has dreams of outlasting Gabriel "Flash" Elorde as his country's longest-reigning world champion, Canete feels that the allure of greater prosperity will also push Nietes up in weight. "Eventually he has to go up," Canete said. "For right now, we're concentrating on the next fight. [The promoters] made this big investment thinking they'll win this fight. It's quite hard for Donnie to fight in Mexico, but we're prepared for anything." * * * Ryan Songalia is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and a contributor to GMANews.TV. He can be reached at ryan@ryansongalia.com . An archive of his work can be found at www.ryansongalia.com . Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ryansongalia . Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ryan Songalia.  |
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