Donnie in lightfly swan song

MANILA, Philippines - WBO lightflyweight champion Donnie Nietes will relinquish his crown after facing Mexican challenger Carlos Velarde in a scheduled 12-round bout at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino Ballroom tomorrow night and is determined to make a sensational farewell.

Nietes, 32, will move up to the flyweight division where ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer said, the big names are waiting. The man called “Ahas” because of his history with pet snakes expects to beat Velarde convincingly in announcing his invasion of the 112-pound ranks.

The Nietes-Velarde fight is the main event of the 28th edition of Pinoy Pride, the boxing series that began four years ago as an ambitious project of ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN. In the undercard, IBF Intercontinental superbantamweight champion “Prince” Albert Pagara stakes his throne against Mexico’s Raul Hirales, former WBO minimumweight titleholder Merlito Sabillo battles Indonesia’s Faris Nenggo, Milan Melindo takes on Mexico’s Saul Juarez in an IBF lightflyweight championship eliminator and bantamweight A. J. Banal faces Thailand’s Maxsaisai Sithsaithong.

In an added attraction, reigning WBO minimumweight champion Francisco Rodriguez  Jr. of Mexico meets local boy Jomar Fajardo in a 10-round non-title tiff. Rodriguez was the same brawler who stopped Sabillo in the 10th round for the WBO diadem in Monterrey last March. Since wresting the crown, Rodriguez has turned back Japanese challenger Katsunari Takayama. Rodriguez, 21, has a 16-2 record, with 11 KOs, four in the first round. Fajardo, 22, is coming off a fifth round knockout loss to Benezer Alolod in a Philippine lightflyweight title bout in Santa Rosa. Fajardo’s record is 14-5-1, with 7 KOs.

Rodriguez arrived in the country with the Mexican contingent last Sunday. Velarde is his stablemate with Zanfer Promotions and Rodriguez decided to make the most of his trip by engaging in a tune-up. Fajardo is not expected to give Rodriguez trouble although before losing to Alolod, he was unbeaten in five previous outings.

Aldeguer said Velarde is a typical Mexican fighter who comes to fight and never stops punching. “Nietes will know what to do as he always does,” he added. “The trainers have prepared a gameplan but it will really depend on what Velarde brings to the ring that may make Donnie adjust and do his thing.”

Velarde, 24, has a 26-3-1 record, with 14 KOs compared to Nietes’ 33-1-4, with 19 KOs. Nietes is unbeaten in his last 25 fights since losing to Angky Angkota in Jakarta in 2004. Velarde was stopped by Japan’s Ryo Miyazaki in the fifth round in a WBA minimumweight title fight in Osaka last year but has since rebounded to win three in a row.

Aside from the pressure of bowing out of the lightflyweight division with a bang, Nietes is also on the verge of surpassing the late Flash Elorde’s uninterrupted world title reign of seven years and three months from March 15, 1960 to June 15, 1967. Nietes won the WBO minimumweight crown on Sept. 30, 2007, made four successful defenses then claimed the WBO lightflyweight title on Oct. 8, 2011. Nietes will make the fifth defense of his 108-pound title against Velarde. If he is still world champion by Dec. 31, Nietes will have equalled Elorde’s record of world championship longevity. The difference is Elorde ruled uninterruptedly in one weight division while Nietes’ reign has crossed two weight classes.

“I’m sure there is pressure on Donnie right now as everyone is talking about him surpassing Elorde’s record but we are confident that Donnie will be able to handle the pressure well,” said Aldeguer. “We have plans to promote Donnie in the US or Dubai next year. I’m sure the international audience will look at him differently now especially if he breaks Elorde’s record.”

Aldeguer said Pagara’s worth will be tested by Hirales. “This is a mandatory regional title fight for Pagara so we had no choice on the opponent,” he continued. “This will definitely be Pagara’s toughest fight that will surely dictate the future of his career. We are not looking at any world champions for now until he goes through Hirales with flying colors. This fight should answer the question if Pagara is ready for the big time. He definitely has the style and the charisma to be a major star in the sport.”

Pagara, 20, boasts a 21-0 record, with 15 KOs. In his last three assignments, Pagara knocked out Hugo Partida and Isaak Junior in one round each and Shak Max in three. Hirales, 30, has a 22-3-1 record, with 11 KOs, and is fresh from a 10-round loss to Colombia’s Luis Melendez who in 2009, sent Z Gorres to the hospital after their fight and ended his ring career.