NIETES-PALICTE REMATCH GOES INTO PURSE BIDDING

The WBO has ordered a purse bid for the Nietes-Palicte WBO world super flyweight championship on Feb. 28, 2019 at the WBO headquarters in San Juan, Puerto Rico. WBO Championship Committee chairman Luis Batista-Salas, in a letter sent out to all parties dated Feb. 22, 2019, has advised Nietes's promoter Michael Aldeguer of ALA Promotions and Palicte's promoter Guy Taylor of Roy Jones Promotions as well as any other bona fide promoter, to submit a bid with a minimum amount of $100,000 US dollars.

This has developed after apparently ALA Promotions and Roy Jones Jr Promotions failed to come with an agreement to promote the Nietes-Palicte rematch and Aldeguer also failed to come up with an alternative fight for Nietes that was agreeable to the WBO.

The WBO earlier ordered ALA Promotions and Roy Jones Jr Promotions to negotiate for the rematch giving them a 15-day window which expired last Feb. 19.

Nietes and Palicte fought for the vacant WBO world super flyweight title on Sep. 8, 2018 in Los Angeles that ended in a controversial draw. Nietes went on to fight Japan's Kazuto Ioka for the same belt on Dec. 31, 2018 in Macau which Nietes won by split decision while Palicte fought Mexican Jose Martinez for the eliminator last Jan. 31 in Alpine, California which Palicte won by second round knockout. The WBO allowed the two pairings to happen with the intent that the winners will fight each other afterwards.