DONNIE ?Ahas? Nietes now has two things to brag about, the WBO Asia-Pacific minimum-weight title and a powerful finish that could line him up among the brightest prospects in international arena.
Nietes needed just 3:46 to score a sensational knockout of Indonesian minimum weight champion Heri Amol to win the vacant WBO regional belt last Friday at the Mandaue City Sports and Cultural Center.
?We told him that he should make the win sensational or else he?ll be just another of our fighters, good only for the undercards,? said ALA Boys international manager Michael Aldeguer.
?I felt stronger and motivated. I have made some lapses in the past but that will definitely change now,? said Nietes after the fight.
After the shorter Amol gamely traded punches for the first three minutes, Nietes stepped up his offensive in the second round, connecting with multiple body and head punches, before the finishing hook to the temple and a hook to the body floored the Indon fighter for good. Referee Tony Pisons counted Amol out at the 46-second mark of the second round.
?I give it to Amol, who did everything to give Nietes a good fight. He tried to trade punches, to engage in a short distance fight, which was, I believe, not his kind of game,? said Cebu boxing patron Antonio Lopez Aldeguer.
Disqualified
However, the story of the night belong to the scheduled eigh- round fight between undefeated Boholano Leon Maratas and veteran Lotlot Gaviola of Butuan City. Maratas won by disqualification at the 1:55 mark of the seventh round.
Maratas, a young upstart from Loon, Bohol and a son of a fisherman, was clearly hitting clean shots but Gaviola showed a few of the tricks used a series of low blows.
Maratas was hit by at least seven low blows that floored him three times.
Maratas wrenched in pain at the canvass for the first time on the fourth round, another on the sixth and the last was on the seventh, when referee Steve Blanco decided to disqualify the Butuan City fighter. However, Blanco?s decision to let go of the six other low blows before disqualifying the fighter on his seventh try was questioned.
Unanimous
Meanwhile, Along Denoy scored a unanimous decision over Aljun Salugaol.
Milan Melindo also scored a unanimous decision over Rommel Bongon, Joseph Omanz escaped with a majority decision win over Rey Las Pi?as, Jessie Albaracin scored a TKO win over Edmund Velayo at the start of the fourth round.
Brix ?Bomb? Ray had a KO win over the erstwhile undefeated Nic Banal, whose father died on the eve of his fight. Wilson ?Weng? Haya scored a TKO win at 1:42 of the third round over Alfredo Balabat and Franklin Albia pulled the shortest win over the night with a TKO win over Romano Gelig at 2:20 mark of the first round.
