WHEN boxers move up in weight they sometimes lose their power and their speed and become relatively different fighters than what they used to be in their previous weight division.
Donnie Nietes, however, has shown no signs of slowing down nor of his power diminishing, and he looks like the same fighter who once dominated the minimumweight and light flyweight divisions.
?He still has his speed and he still has his power,? Nietes? coach Edmund Villamor told Sun.Star Cebu. ?He is even stronger now than he was at 108. He also isn?t sluggish at this weight.?
Nietes officially becomes a flyweight on Sept. 24 when he takes on veteran former world champion Edgar Sosa for the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) Inter-Continental flyweight crown in the main event of ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN?s blockbuster boxing show, ?Philippines vs. Mexico?, at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.
Judging by the way Nietes? training camp has gone so far, Villamor feels that the fight won?t even go the distance because of how impressive he has been.
?If there is a chance, I believe he will knock him out,? he said.
Nietes has been training at the Freddie Roach?s famed Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, wherein he has put on some good rounds with two-time Olympic gold medalist and WBO No. 1 rated flyweight Zhou Shiming, WBO No. 12 super flyweight Ricardo Rodriguez and teammate Arthur Villanueva.
?He is fine. He has been very impressive in sparring,? said Villamor. ?Their sparring was good. Zhou is very quick but has an amateur style.?
The 34-year-old Nietes has done everything needed in training and is just now focused on cutting down in weight.
?I don?t need to improve on anything anymore. We are already complete with our training and I?m focused on my weight,? said Nietes, who relinquished his WBO light flyweight belt to catch the bigger fish at the stacked 112-pound division.
