Nietes standing on edge of history
CEBU CITY—Donnie Nietes found no need to trash-talk Carlos Velarde here yesterday.
All the Filipino world champion did was give the Mexican a dagger look during their faceoff at the weigh-in of Pinoy Pride XXVIII to remind the challenger what he’s up against.
Nietes has beaten nine of Velarde’s countrymen in the ring, three of them right at their home turf, and owns a 25-win streak that includes four title defenses each in a seven-year reign in the strawweight and junior flyweight divisions.
If Nietes (33-1-4 with 19 knockouts) beats Velarde, he keeps the World Boxing Organization light flyweight crown and stands to surpass the great Flash Elorde’s seven-year and three-month supremacy in the junior lightweight division.
While he values the record, Nietes opts to focus on Velarde (26-3-1, 14 KOs) in the headliner of the fight card dubbed “History in the Making,” a joint undertaking of ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN at Waterfront Cebu City Hotel.
Nietes, 32, tipped the scales at 107.5 pounds. Velarde, 24, checked in at an exact 108 lb at the activity center of Robinson’s Fuente.
In the chief support, Milan Melindo (31-1, 12 KOs) tangles with Mexican Saul Juarez (20-3, 11 KOs) in an International Boxing Federation light flyweight title eliminator .
Rising star “Prince” Albert Pagara (21-0, 15 KOs) will stake his IBF Inter-Continental super bantamweight crown against mandatory challenger Raul Hirales (22-3-1, 11 KOs).
