Philippines, 03 Feb 2026
  Home >> News

 


BOXERS

CURRENT CHAMPIONS 

FORMER CHAMPIONS   

RATINGS                       

NEWS           

FORUM        

FIGHT GALLERIES        

RING CARD GIRLS        


 
 
News  


NIETES WINS BY TKO OVER VELARDE; WILL BREAK ELORDE'S RECORD BY NEW YEAR


PhilBoxing.com




CEBU CITY ? Donnie 'Ahas' Nietes retained his WBO junior flyweight belt via 7th round TKO after his corner refused to allow Carlos Velardo to fight at the beginning of the 8th round due to the cut he suffered earlier as hall of fame referee Robert Byrd immediately raised Nietes' hand in victory to the delight of the full-house crowd at the Waterfront Hotel & Casino here Saturday night.

Nietes thus successfully hit his target to break Filipino boxing legend Gabriel 'Flash' Elorde's long standing record set in 1967 as the longest reigning world champion in the Philippines. Nietes, however, has to wait for the clock to strike at 12:01 on January 1, 2015, the new year, to officially surpass Elorde's record of seven years and three months.

Nietes dominated Velarde with accurate head shots and uppercuts the whole night and was comfortably ahead in all the judges scorecards after the 7th round. Rose Lascend of the United States has it 68-65; Masakazu Murasi of Japan, 70-63 and Salven Lagumbay of the Philippines, 70-63.

In other results, Milan Melindo won by unanimous decision over speedy Saul Juarez in chess match. Scores were 115-113 by Ian Scott of New Zealand, 116-112 by Alejandro Lopez of Mexico and 118-111 by Samson Libres of the Philippines.

'Prince' Albert Pagara won impressively by unanimous decision over Raul Hirales of Mexico. Pagara sent Hirales to the canvas in the third round en route to a dominating scores of 120-107, 120-107 and 119-108.

Former world champion Merlito 'Tiger' Sabillo suffered the lone defeat by the Philippines when he lost via 4th round TKO against Faris Nenggo of Indonesia.

AJ Banal won by unanimous decision over Maxsaisai Sithsaithong of Thailand while up and comer Mark Magsayo won by 2nd round TKO over Korea's Moon-San Jung.

The big surprise of the night was the fight between WBO and IBF world champion Francisco Rodriguez of Mexico who was brought into deep waters by late substitute and heavy underdog Jomar Fajardo of the Philippines. Rodriguez was hitting Fajardo with volume punches in the early rounds when a looping right apparently broke Rodriguez's nose in the 3rd round that bled throughout the fight. The fight ended in a split draw with scores 98-92, 95-95 and 94-96.

Photo: Referee Robert Byrd raises Nietes' hand in victory Saturday night at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu.


Click here to view a list of other articles written by Dong Secuya.


Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:

  • Reymond Yanong Edges Out Hayato Ono for Split Decision Win in Japan
    By Carlos Costa, , Tue, 03 Feb 2026
  • “I’m gonna smoke whoever is in front of me, Anthony Wright- Hearn makes his pro debut March 13 at Thunderdome 53
    , Tue, 03 Feb 2026
  • Pacman's Cue Club Hosts J&P 10 Ball Cup from Feb. 4 to 7
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Tue, 03 Feb 2026
  • Mt. Apo Boulder Face Challenge is back
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Tue, 03 Feb 2026
  • WILDER AND CHISORA FACE OFF IN ICONIC TIMES SQUARE TO ANNOUNCE APRIL 4 HEAVYWEIGHT SHOWDOWN AT THE O2 LONDON
    , Tue, 03 Feb 2026
  • World Boxing appoints Tom Dielen as new Secretary General
    , Tue, 03 Feb 2026
  • Sullivan Management signs 19-1 power-punching Albanian heavyweight Kristian Prenga
    , Tue, 03 Feb 2026
  • Another Grandeza in MMA is coming
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Tue, 03 Feb 2026
  • Gracie meets Zubiri in PH
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Mon, 02 Feb 2026
  • International Master Eric Labog Jr. rules FIDE rapid chess tourney
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Mon, 02 Feb 2026
  • 76ers star Paul George has been suspended for 25 NBA games by doping
    By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Sun, 01 Feb 2026
  • Fit To Be Unified: Xander Zayas Defeats Abass Baraou To Unify Junior Middleweight World Titles
    , Sun, 01 Feb 2026
  • Fit To Be Unified: Xander Zayas Defeats Abass Baraou To Unify Junior Middleweight World Titles
    , Sun, 01 Feb 2026
  • Trazo beats Jabagat in Talisay
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Sun, 01 Feb 2026
  • Into fights Sanchez on Feb. 9 at Villa Kristen
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Sun, 01 Feb 2026
  • Teofimo Lopez vs Shakur Stevenson: Styles Make Fights Fitting Cliche
    By Chris Carlson, , Sat, 31 Jan 2026
  • Bryan Flores Wins Majority Decision Over Starling Castillo in Main Event of ProBoxTV’s ‘The Contender Series’ at Live! Casino Hotel Maryland
    , Sat, 31 Jan 2026
  • KinetixSports Legacy Run on March 1
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Sat, 31 Jan 2026
  • THE RING 6: OFFICIAL WEIGHTS AND RUNNING ORDER FOR TEOFIMO LOPEZ VS. SHAKUR STEVENSON
    , Sat, 31 Jan 2026
  • Legendary Soccer Player Sergio Ramos to make professional boxing debut
    By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Sat, 31 Jan 2026
  • Weigh-In Results: Xander Zayas vs. Abass Baraou
    , Sat, 31 Jan 2026
  • Teofimo vs Shakur Fight Analysis
    By Ralph Rimpell, , Sat, 31 Jan 2026
  • Rohan Polanco-Christian Gomez Welterweight Showdown Canceled
    , Sat, 31 Jan 2026
  • NEWCASTLE WEIGH-IN RESULTS AND FIGHT NIGHT RUNNING ORDER CONFIRMED AS MURTAZALIEV AND KELLY CLASH FOR WORLD TITLE
    , Fri, 30 Jan 2026
  • Boxers Make Weight for Brico Santig’s Exciting 21-Bout Promotion in Thailand (PHOTOS)
    By Carlos Costa, , Fri, 30 Jan 2026




  •  



     
    PhilBoxing.com has been created to support every aspiring
    Filipino boxer and the Philippine boxing scene in general.
    Please send comments to feedback@philboxing.com


    PRIVATE POLICY | LEGAL DISCLAIMER
    developed and maintained by dong secuya
    © 2026 philboxing.com.