MANILA, Philippines – Donnie Nietes tried to keep it to himself after he hurt his right hand while landing a straight at Mexico?s Francisco Rodriguez at the Waterfront Hotel Saturday evening.
?He didn?t tell his seconds why he was not punching. He didn?t want them to know that he hurt his hand,? said Nietes? patron, Antonio Aldeguer, after the fight.
Aldeguer intently watched the fight from a distance, and in the closing rounds he couldn?t understand why Nietes wasn?t throwing enough punches.
?I was worried so I sent people to his corner. I didn?t know then he was hurt. Then I had someone tell them, ?Look, last two rounds, forget about the pain, just throw those punches,? said Aldeguer.
The godfather of Cebuano boxing said Nietes responded, and despite the injured right hand, broke and bloodied Rodriguez? nose in the closing rounds.
Nietes went on to score a unanimous decision (115-113, 119-110, 118-110), keep his WBO light-flyweight crown and extend his long reign as a world champion. Sportshub ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1
The president of ALA Promotions, Michael Aldeguer, told The STAR that Nietes will have his hand examined by their doctor today.
?The right hand is swollen and we will have it x-rayed tomorrow. We are hoping there?s no fracture. He was supposed to be examined today but Donnie wanted to rest,? Aldeguer said yesterday.
During a post-fight dinner that lasted way past midnight, Nietes showed his damaged hand to reporters, and the diamond ring presented to him by WBO chief Paco Valcarcel.
Nietes said there?s pain in the middle knuckles, adding that he injured his hand when he landed a right straight to Rodriguez? face in the seventh or eighth round.
?Dun sumakit (That?s when it hurt). Parang puwede ko na siya ma-knockout ninth round pero masakit na talaga (I felt I could knock him out in the ninth round but it really hurt),? said Nietes.
?Halos hindi na ako makasuntok (I could barely punch),? he said.
But the 33-year-old champion fought through pain and threw just enough punches to score the victory amid chants of ?Do-nie! Do-nie!? from the big crowd.
Nietes gave the crowd what they came for.
As the champion spoke briefly to The STAR during the victory party, the elder Aldeguer proudly watched from a distance, the way he always does.
