Donnie Nietes did enough to earn the WBO lightflyweight crown on a unanimous 12-round decision over Mexico’s Ramon Garcia at a packed University of St. La Salle gym in Bacolod City last Saturday but because he failed to knock out the durable champion and endured some scary moments, some fans weren’t convinced.
ALA Boxing owner Tony Aldeguer, whose son Michael manages Nietes, said he’s not surprised by the reaction. “I realize Donnie isn’t an explosive fighter like Manny Pacquiao,” said Aldeguer. “He’s not as impressive. But he knows how to win and that’s the bottom line. When he was the WBO minimumweight champion, Donnie turned back three Mexican challengers in Mexico, all on points. That gives you an idea of his skills. He’s a technical fighter, very proficient, but isn’t sensational.”
Aldeguer said there was no doubt in his mind that Nietes deserved the verdict and called it a decisive victory. “I think Garcia won four rounds and Donnie, eight,” said Aldeguer. “Donnie landed the cleaner blows. Garcia’s punches were like pats. Donnie controlled the first five rounds then Garcia came back to take the middle rounds before Donnie won the last three. Garcia was exhausted in the end.”
Nietes appeared to lose steam when Garcia staged his rally and Aldeguer blamed it on a nutritional glitch. “Donnie weighed in at 108 flat and we wanted him to enter the fight at 118 so he could be at full strength,” revealed Aldeguer. “But after the weigh-in, Donnie couldn’t take too much food or liquids. He felt bloated. Donnie eventually entered the ring at 113. I think that’s why he lost energy in the middle rounds when Garcia came back. Luckily, Donnie got his second wind to finish strong while Garcia faded.”
* * * *
Garcia protested the decision and claimed he was robbed. “Nobody wants to lose,” said Aldeguer. “Of course, Garcia felt he was short-changed but look at the judges’ scorecards. The two American judges (Lisa Giampa and Carlos Ortiz, Jr.) had Donnie ahead by a big margin. The Filipino judge (Danrex Tapdasan) scored it closer. Garcia wants an immediate rematch but why? The decision was unanimous. Besides, there was no rematch clause in the fight contract.
Aldeguer said it was a bitter pill for Garcia to swallow as his twin brother Raul had just lost his WBO minimumweight title. Raul will face Ivan Calderon for the interim WBO 105-pound crown in Puerto Rico on Oct. 29.
“I don’t think Garcia is in (Fernando) Montiel’s class and some of the Mexicans whom Donnie has beaten are probably better like Manuel Vargas,” said Aldeguer. “I might give him a rematch but not right away. I’d like Donnie to defend his title in the Philippines or in a neutral country. I’m open to a unification fight, maybe a showdown with Roman Gonzalez, but after one or two defenses. If you ask Donnie, he doesn’t mind fighting again in Mexico. It will depend on the offers.”
Although Garcia left with a heavy heart, the Mexican said he’s not averse to fighting again in the country. “He enjoyed the Ilonggos’ warm hospitality,” said Aldeguer. “There are so many things similar between Mexicans and Filipinos, culturally. Michael did a good job of staging the event. The referee (Robert Byrd), the American judges and the Mexican visitors were treated royally.”
Giampa scored it 118-110, Ortiz 117-111 and Tapdasan, 115-113. “I found out that Lisa’s husband is boxing judge Chuck who was in Cebu for the Z Gorres-Fernando Montiel fight in 2007,” said Aldeguer. “At first, I thought it was Chuck assigned for the fight. I’m glad it was Lisa who happens to be quite a looker. Carlos isn’t related to the former world champion with the same name although they are both from Puerto Rico and live in New York.”
* * * *
Because of Nietes’ clinical and no-frills style, he’s not a household name among aficionados even as boxing historian Bert Randolph Sugar and ring analyst Teddy Atlas named him as one of the world’s five greatest miniumweights ever in their “Ultimate Book of Boxing Lists.” He’s in the record books as the seventh Filipino to win at least two world titles in different divisions yet fans don’t revere him as highly as crowd-pleasers like Nonito Donaire Jr. or Luisito Espinosa.
Nietes said he was never hurt by Garcia although it appeared like he was on the way down in the seventh. “He’s not a hard puncher,” said Nietes. “I could take his punches. But in the middle rounds, I got tired. It was because I didn’t fight at my best weight. But I came back because I couldn’t disappoint the fans.”
Nietes, 29, said he’ll fight twice or thrice more as a lightflyweight then move up to flyweight. One of his goals is to unify the 108-pound championship and battling Gonzalez, the WBA titlist with a 30-0 record, including 25 KOs, would be a dream come true. Clearly, Nietes is eager to prove he deserves recognition as a world champion worth his salt.