INQUIRER Sports

CEBU CITY, Philippines — World Boxing Organization (WBO) minimum-weight champion Donnie Nietes defends his title for the first time this Saturday against Nicaraguan Eddy Castro in the co-main event of the “WBO Night of Champions” card at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel.

The other main event will feature the hugely popular Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista defending his WBO Intercontinental super-bantam title against Mexican Eden Marquez in the other 12-round tiff.

“This will be an exciting card for the fans. We know the visiting fighters have prepared hard for this. But our Filipino fighters are ready just the same,” said the youthful Michael Aldeguer whose ALA Promotions is putting up the show.

Studio 23 will air the fights starting at 7:30 tonight, while ABS-CBN will air the replay tomorrow at 11 p.m.

WBO Asia Pacific chairman Leon Panoncillo is supervising the championship bouts. Games and Amusements Board (GAB) commissioners Angel Bautista and Monju Guanzon are in town for the event.

Bautista (25-1, 18 KO’s) came in at exactly 122 lbs during official weigh-in Friday. Marquez (16-3-3, 12 KO’s) checked in at 121 lbs.

Bautista and Marquez then held a three-minute stare-down that had the big crowd chanting for a fight.

Nietes (22-1-3, 13 KO’s), defending his world crown after winning it over Thailand’s Pornsawan Kratingdaenggym last year, came in at a perfect 105 lbs. Castro (12-3-1, 9 KO’s) was at 103 lbs. Salven Lagumbay Contributor