Boxing champ Nietes to receive ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’

CEBU, Philippines – All forms of recognition, which he richly deserves, just kept on flowing in for two-division world champion Donnie ‘Ahas” Nietes.

And when it rains, it really pours.

The ALA Gym star and model athlete is set to be honored with the ‘Pinoy Pride Lifetime Achievement Award,’ not only for his invaluable contribution to the tremendous success of the boxing series that has become a blockbuster hit even on foreign shores but also for his inspiring story that personifies the true essence of a ‘Pinoy Pride.’

ABS-CBN Sports and The Filipino Channel (TFC) will bestow upon Nietes such accolade during the “Pinoy Pride 32:Duel in Dubai 2,” which the pride of Murcia, Negros Occidental will personally  grace on August 7 at the Dubai World Trade Center in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The achievements of the 32-year-old Nietes is truly heart-warming, rising from his humble beginnings as a janitor and pet caretaker of Cebu’s fabled sweat shop to one of the greatest fighters the country has ever produced.

Nietes was awarded with the prestigious RING championship belt and a diamond-encrusted ‘Super Champion’s’ ring by the Word Boxing Organization for being the longest reigning Filipino world boxing champion.

A world champ for nearly eight years, Nietes broke the previous record set by the late Cebuano ring legend Gabriel “Flash’ Elorde, who held the world lightweight titles for seven years and three months from 1960 to 1967.

Nietes’ first shot to world fame when he pounded out a 12-round unanimous decision over the then unbeaten Thai champ Poonsawan Porpramuk to snatch the WBO minimumweight crown in September 2007 at the Waterfront-Cebu City Hotel and Casino.

That made him the first ever world champion to come out of the ALA Gym of revered sports patron Antonio ‘Bidoy’ L. Aldeguer in its 30 years of dedicated service to the discovery and development of Pinoy ring talents up to the grassroots level.

That feat also earned Nietes his first “Athlete of the Year” accolade from the highly esteemed Sportswriters Association of Cebu (SAC).

Nietes is undefeated for 11 years now. That spectacular streak was further highlighted when he clinched the WBO light flyweight belt that made him one of the only eight Filipino boxers to win two world titles in different weight classes.

The best force of Nietes, however, is unseen. That is keeping his feet firmly on the ground despite all his glory and splendor. (FREEMAN)