I?m sure you?ve noticed that boxing didn?t exactly kick off on a high note this year, did it? There was the usual fight card on Sinulog night, an annual tradition of the ALA Promotions, and a card in Dalaguete last Friday. Nothing much else. Also gone is the usual end of January big event at the Waterfront. So if you were worried, that?s perfectly understandable.
But worry no more. The fireworks were delayed by a couple months and they?re all set to fire off on March 2 at Pinoy Pride 18 when World Boxing Organization (WBO) light flyweight champ Donnie Nietes defends his belt against fellow WBO world champion Moises Fuentes who?s moving up from his 105-pound title to the light flyweight division. And it?s taking place right here in Cebu (finally). Not Manila or Bacolod, the previous venues of ALA?s world title fights, something which this biased Cebuano fight fan grumbled about. I mean why go to Bacolod and Manila when Cebu is The boxing hotbed of the country? Oh well, we?re just so glad that the show is on.
But what do we expect? For starters, Donnie?s title defense is going to be a tough and pressure-packed fight. He?s not going up against an ordinary contender who he can play around with, the type you?d like to choose for a voluntary defense. This is as good as it gets. Moises Fuentes is a current WBO world champion at the 105-poud division who?s moving up in weight, exactly the same path taken by Nietes when he went for his second world title. Fuentes is fresh from a TKO win over ex-world champ Ivan Calderon, someone who was seen as unbeatable in the lightest weight class of boxing. Fuentes also overcame an equally tough Ramon Garcia in another WBO world title fight that went the distance and had both boxers kissing the canvass. Fuentes is a tall and lanky boxer who makes up for his lack of finesse or technical style with a right hand that has pulverized opponents. Listed at 5-7, he?s taller than all boxers in the 105 to 12 pound divisions. He just happens to be one of those who have a unique body composition that is so ?light? at such a height. This automatically makes him the bigger fighter on fight night when he bulks up after the weigh-in. He also has an amazing gas tank that can last over 12 rounds, another unique feature that very few boxers have. But is he unbeatable?
Team Nietes certainly doesn?t think so. While they recognize the threat the Fuentes brings, they are preparing for him with a fight plan that will pit a shorter, more technically skillful champ against a tall-rangy boxer who can get hit (and can go down), but who can also run a marathon. This makes the plot all the more interesting. While Nietes has beaten Mexicans in the past, Fuentes could be the toughest Mexican he?ll face in his career. Talk about pressure! Preparation should be more than the usual in terms of technically breaking down the opponent. There?s a need to carefully review how Fuentes fights, identify his strengths and pick his weaknesses that can be exploited. Can he take body blows with his lean frame? How quick is he? How should the right straight be avoided? How can Donnie overcome the height edge of Fuentes? Can he go under or slip the punches? It?s like preparing for an open book exam in school. Team Nietes knows the opponent and vice versa. It?s a simple case of preparing the correct game plan and implementing this. If Plan A goes wrong, a Plan B or C has to be in place. This could be the most difficult pre-fight preparation ever conducted by head trainer Edmund Villamor along with Edito and ALA himself. It will be tough but not impossible.
On a brighter note, a win in front of the boxing-mad Cebu fans will not only legitimize Donnie?s being a world champion. It will also place him up there with the best of the best, albeit without the fanfare that a Manny Pacquiao, Nonito Donaire or Brian Viloria receive. Let?s face it. Nietes and Johnriel Casimero, the other Cebu-based world light flyweight champ of the International Boxing Federation don?t have the kind of following and media hype that the other three Pinoy stars have. The support of ABS-CBN has really helped but the funny thing is that they somehow built bigger images in Boom Boom Bautista, AJ Banal and Milan Melindo.
The business side of things also looks very rosy for ALA Promotions. After a successful 2012, 2013 looks to be even bigger. Milan is being booked to fight in the undercard of the Viloria fight in Macau on April 6. Pinoy Pride 19 is being mapped out with April 20 tabbed as date and Davao City as a venue, a first for the Pinoy Pride series. Bautista will headline the card with OPBF champ Arthur Villanueva facing Marco Demecillo Singwancha. Whoa! I can only drool at what?s in store for the rest of the year.
Boxing in 2013 has had a relatively slow start. True. But along with today?s fireworks for the Chinese New Year, it sure looks like it?s raring to kick off.
