| |
|
THE SNAKE ESCAPES: “AHAS” NIETES RETAINS TITLE VIA SPLIT DECISION IN MEXICO
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr. PhilBoxing.com Mon, 14 Sep 2009

Donnie “Ahas” Nietes defied the odds and conventional thinking and won by split decision over Mexican challenger Manuel “Chango” Vargas in Nayarit, Mexico.
It was a hard fought and close battle. There were moments when the title seemed to be slipping away from his hands. Champion or not, close fights are supposed to go to the hometown fighter.
Nietes used his jab and defense to fend off Vargas' early onslaught. But the challenger was relentless with his body attack. Vargas also managed to catch Nietes with good head shots as the fight wore on.
The fight was fought mostly at close quarters. It was Vargas who landed the harder shots. But Nietes continued to counter everything Vargas threw at him. This was now a battle of technical attrition and as to who wanted it more. A low blow in the ninth had Nietes hurt and halted the action.
Nietes must have felt his title slipping away at this point and staged a rally.The Snake of the ALA gym showed the heart of a champion. He outworked Vargas in the final two rounds and boxed behind an effective left jab.
The scorecards read – 116-112 Vargas and 116-110 and 118-110 for Nietes. I had it much closer but Nietes' late rally was the clincher. Together with stablemate Z Gorres who stopped veteran Cruz Carbajal in the 6th, they scored a rare twin victory in Mexico. The 27 year old Nietes’ record is now 25 W-1 L-3 D with 14 KO’s. This is his second straight win in Mexico and his third successful title defense.
He may not do anything spectacular but Nietes does a lot of things well. But the best thing he does is win.
WBO minimumweight champion Donnie Nietes of the Philippines celebrates after being declared winner during Saturday night's fight with Interim champion Manual Vargas of Mexico at the El Palenque de la Feria in Tepic, Nayarit. Photo by Reiver Rodriguez.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
Navarrete's Future in Question as He Resists Rematch with Charly Suarez By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Fri, 29 Aug 2025Davao's Corteza beats Biado, Aranas enters round-of-32 in P2 Million Bata Reyes 10 Ball Open By Marlon Bernardino, , Fri, 29 Aug 2025Round 12 with Mauricio Sulaimàn: The Growth of Boxing By Mauricio Sulaimán, , Fri, 29 Aug 2025Toshihiko Era Retains WBF Asia Strap in Thailand By Carlos Costa, , Fri, 29 Aug 2025Boxlab Promotions Signs Rising Cuban Prospects Ronny Alvarez and Pedro Veitia , Fri, 29 Aug 2025Boxing Legend & Hall of Famer Roy Jones Jr. Confirmed for Eighth Annual Box Fan Expo, During Mexican Independence Day Weekend, Saturday September 13, in Las Vegas , Fri, 29 Aug 2025Vayson vies for WBA/WBO titles By Joaquin Henson, , Thu, 28 Aug 2025Mexican "The Rock" Zamora, three-time female world champion with 20 world championship fights, retires By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Thu, 28 Aug 2025“I’M ONLY GETTING BETTER”: CONFIDENT PAT McCORMACK PLOTS HUGE HOMECOMING WIN OVER MIGUEL PARRA TO SPARK WORLD TITLE CHARGE , Thu, 28 Aug 2025Heart of a Lion: 'Lucky Boy' Reymark Alicaba Earns Praise Despite Loss by Points in Thailand By Carlos Costa, , Thu, 28 Aug 2025Dante Kirkman Looks to be the First Fighter to Stop Dylan Carlson , Thu, 28 Aug 2025Shawn Darling Inducted into New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame , Thu, 28 Aug 2025Arca wins 13th Mindanao Open chessfest By Lito delos Reyes, , Thu, 28 Aug 2025Carzano rules FIDE-Rated Open Rapid Chess Tournament By Marlon Bernardino, , Thu, 28 Aug 2025Pythons-Primo wins 5 golds, 3 silvers, 2 bronzes in Kadayawan judo By Lito delos Reyes, , Thu, 28 Aug 2025Crawford to Be Stripped of WBA Title Once He Climb the Ring to Fight Canelo By Dong Secuya, , Wed, 27 Aug 2025Sebastian Juarez Remains Undefeated with Captivating 4th Round TKO Over Louis Hernandez , Wed, 27 Aug 2025Jajaira Gonzalez Prepared to Meet the Moment at 2025 World Boxing Championships , Wed, 27 Aug 20252 Division & Former Unified World Champion Juan Francisco Estrada Confirmed for Eighth Annual Box Fan Expo, During Mexican Independence Day Weekend, Saturday September 13, in Las Vegas , Wed, 27 Aug 2025THE PAST WEEK IN ACTION 25 AUGUST 2025 By Eric Armit, , Tue, 26 Aug 2025Magpily rules PH National Women's Elimination - Luzon Leg By Marlon Bernardino, , Tue, 26 Aug 2025Carlos De Leon Shines with 2nd Round TKO, Remains Undefeated on MVP’s Most Valuable Prospects 14 , Tue, 26 Aug 2025GM Daniel Quizon Wins 4th Edition Eduardo B. Basilonia Touchmove Open Invitational Rapid Chess Tournament; pockets P100,000 By Marlon Bernardino, , Tue, 26 Aug 2025Good Luck, Lucky Boy Reymark Alicaba! By Carlos Costa, , Mon, 25 Aug 2025Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Released By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Mon, 25 Aug 2025 |

|
|
|
|
|