Two-division world title holder Donnie Nietes believes reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) flyweight champion Zou Shiming of China doesn?t want to have anything to do with him.
?I feel that he doesn?t want to fight me,? said Nietes yesterday from his homebase in Cebu City when asked about the plans of his management team in 2017.
Nietes is the No. 1 contender in the WBO 112-lb ranks but doesn?t feel that Shiming and even his team are looking forward to defending against him.
?We?ve sparred a few times a few months ago and I think that I got the better of every sparring session,? said Nietes, who had reigned as world minimumweight (105 lbs) and world light-fly (108 lbs) before deciding to move up in weight and target the 112-lb division.
?I think that if we get to fight, I can definitely stop him,? he said.
Those sparring sessions even took place right at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood of Freddie Roach, who trains Shiming.
?Perhaps they know that I will be a tough fight for Shiming and this is the reason why I don?t see myself getting a crack at his title,? said Nietes, who turns 35 in May.
Shiming, 35, has a 9-1 mark with two KOs and is fresh from winning the WBO diadem last month at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Nietes has a solid 39-1-4 slate with 22 KOs.
Zou Shiming
While Nietes is waiting for instructions from ALA Boxing chief Michael Aldeguer, he makes sure that his weight remains in check.
?I am not yet in training mode because there is no definite date yet regarding my next fight but I have been doing light workouts,? said Nietes.
But by January, Nietes expects to begin training in earnest since Aldeguer would have already known what?s down the road.
But it doesn?t look like Nietes will secure a shot at the International Boxing Federation since the champion there is Johnriel Casimero of the Philippines, who doesn?t relish defending against a fellow Filipino. The champion in the World Boxing Association is Kazuto Ioka of Japan while the World Boxing Council is vacant.
