After months of preparation, Negrense World Boxing Organization minimumweight champion Donnie Nietes will climb the ring tomorrow to defend his title against Mexican Erik Ramirez at Auditorio Guelaguetza in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Before he left the country early this month, en route to his title defense in Mexico, Nietes had asked his fellow Negrenses to pray for him, saying he will give his best to return home victorious.
But while he put in months of preparation for the fight, training at the ALA gym in Cebu and later, at the famous Wild Card Gym of Freddie Roach in Los Angeles, California, fighting in Ramirez? hometown spells some danger for the Filipino champion.
?Let?s all pray for Donnie?s victory because he is in enemy?s territory. Even Manny Pacquiao has never been in this situation,? Bacolod City congressman and Philippine Olympic Committee president Monico Puentevella said.
The Bacolod solon said he believes that Nietes will survive the bout and that the Negrense champion ?has a big heart?.
For Nietes to win, Games and Amusement Board and Negros Amateur Boxing Association president Monju Guanzon, said he needs to deliver that knockout punch that floored Nicaraguan Eddy Castro in Cebu last year.
Fighting in Ramirez?s territory put the champion in a disadvantaged position and he needs to go for a knockout or beat Ramirez to a pulp for a very convincing win, Guanzon said.
After three cancelled title defense match-ups, Nietes finally got the chance of defending his WBO belt, albeit in the challenger?s hometown.
The Nietes-Ramirez fight headlines a three world title events card promoted by Ignacio “Nacho” Huizar of KO Entertainment.
Listed in the undercard are title bouts between WBA minimumweight champion Roman Gonzalez against Francisco Rosas and women’s world title event featuring WBC female superflyweight champion Ana Maria Torres of Mexico defending against Paulina Cardona of Colombia.
Nietes goes into the fight with his 23-1-3, 14KOs record while Erik Ramirez?s credentials listed 25-5-1, 19 KOs.
The fights will be shown in 35 countries all over the world via Televisa, but unfortunately, the Philippines will not be one of them after one of the big television networks in the country turned down the fight as it could not sell the fight to sponsors due to the economic crisis, a report from philboxing.com said.
Nietes and his team arrived Thursday afternoon in Oaxaca de Juarez, and were immediately whisked away by waiting vehicles to their hotel, where the Filipino world champion then posed with Ramirez for photographers and the media, the report said.*NAB
