ALA Promotions is looking at a neutral country for Donnie Nietes? title defense against Juan Carlos Reveco next year.
?The target month is February. That is what we are working on. What we agreed on with the promoter of Reveco is a neutral venue. So the fight will not be in the Philippines or Argentina,? ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer told SunStar Cebu.
Nietes will defend his International Boxing Federation (IBF) flyweight crown against mandatory challenger Reveco, with the US, China and the Middle East shaping up as frontrunners to be the host.
?We are still working on it, it has become very complicated in the past days. We hope to get it done before Christmas,? said Aldeguer.
The 35-year-old Nietes won the vacant IBF belt, his third division title, last April with a unanimous decision over Thailand?s Komgrich Nantapech.
Reveco, a two-division world titleholder, also beat Nantapech by unanimous decision in a title eliminator that earned him mandatory challenger status.
The 34-year-old Reveco is a decorated fighter who once held the World Boxing Association (WBA) light flyweight and flyweight titles. Reveco won the WBA light flyweight title 10 years ago with an eighth-round knockout of Thai Nethra Sasiprapa. He won his second division title by beating Jean Piero Perez via a second-round knockout for the interim WBA flyweight title in 2011. After two title defenses, he was later on elevated as regular champion the following year.
Nietes is deep in training at the ALA Gym and is currently helping out his stablemate and fellow world champion Milan Melindo, the current IBF light flyweight king.
?He has been helping out Milan in sparring,? said ALA Gym head trainer Edito Villamor. ?Their sparring is going well, both of them will gain experience from each other.? (EKA)
