BACOLOD CITY? Donnie Nietes made what was thought to be a hard fight into a walk in the park late Saturday night in retaining World Boxing Organization (WBO) light-flyweight crown for the ninth time at the St. La Salle Coliseum. Mexican challenger Raul Garcia retired at the end of the fifth round after being floored twice in the third and getting banged up in the fourth and fifth stanzas, enabling the Filipino champion to look forward to a landmark fight in the US this September.
It was a surprisingly easy victory by Nietes (now 38-1-4 with 22 KOs), one of boxing?s longest reigning champions, as Garcia (36-4-1 with 23 KOs) came into the bout armed with a fearsome reputation of being an iron-chinned puncher. But Nietes? power was on full display on a night when a loss was not a viable option. ?The body blows also softened him up,? said the 34-year-old Nietes, who hasn?t lost in almost ten years.
With the win, Nietes can now focus on either the 10th defense of the WBO 108-lb title against mandatory challenger Moises Fuentes of Mexico or a crack at the world flyweight diadem of Juan Francisco Estrada, the tormentor of Filipino fighters. Michael Aldeguer, Nietes? promoter, has lined him up for a Sept. 24 appearance at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.
Earlier, King Arthur Villanueva was awarded a third-knockout win over Juan Jimenez of Mexico, who went down for the count after ramming against the Filipino?s head. The fight was so action-packed that Jimenez scored a knockdown in the first round and Villanueva got back at him in the second round.
