Donnie Nietes defeated Juan Alejo on points over twelve rounds to retain his WBO light-flyweight title on Saturday night.
The brilliant little Filipino won by 120-108 on one card and by 119-109 on the other two as he recorded the 37th victory of his professional career in a tournament in Carson, California. He has lost only once ? against Angky Angkotta 11 years ago — but has drawn four times in a career that includes 21 wins inside the distance.
Alejo, from Mexico, had won his previous 21 bouts but left the ring with a record of 21-4, including 13 shortcut wins.
Veteran Jason Pagara stopped Santos Benavides in the second round of a super-featherweight bout to enhance his record to 37-2, including 23 knockouts. Benavides, who went down three times, now stands at 25-8, with two draws and 19 shortcut wins.
Bruno Escalante won a super-flyweight bout against Nestor Ramos, winning on points over six rounds and pushing his record to 14-1-1; 6.
In Phoenix, Arizona, Jessie Magdaleno produced another pleasing performance when he knocked out Vergel Nebran in the first round of their featherweight bout. Magdaleno now stands at 22-0, with 16 knockouts ? a record that could earn him a title fight soon.
