Let’s wish Nietes the best

One of the nicest young fighters in the ALA Gym of Cebu is Donnie Nietes, the WBO minimumweight champion, who relinquished his title to move up to light flyweight in search of a second world title.
His quest will hopefully end successfully when he clashes with tough Mexican southpaw Ramon Garcia Hirales, the twin brother of former world minimumweight champion Raul Garcia, at the University of St. La Salle Gym in Bacolod City on Saturday.
Nietes, except for pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao, is the longest reigning Filipino world champion. He wants to break the record of the late world junior lightweight champion Gabriel “Flash” Elorde, who reigned for almost seven and a half years.
In many respects, Nietes is like Elorde, decent and humble, and someone who has no inclination whatsoever to do anyone wrong. Beyond this, Donnie is dedicated to his craft, trains diligently and listens to the instructions and advice of his trainers.
Obviously, after defending his title several times against Mexicans in Mexico, he is thrilled at the opportunity he has longed for —to fight before his hometown fans. And, he can surely get no closer to his place of birth in Murcia, which is some 16 kilometers away from the fight site in Bacolod, to showcase his talent thanks to the commitment of ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN.
In an unprecedented first in Philippine boxing, which shows that we are learning fast and moving forward, the fight card will be telecast via pay-per-view in Cebu on Sky Cable and at the SM City Cebu Cinema 1 because of the numerous fans of Nietes in Cebu, the acknowledged hotbed of boxing in our country.
We were able to provide Nietes and his handlers headed by boxing patron Tony Aldeguer and his son, Michael, who has assumed the leadership of ALA Promotions, with a DVD of Garcia Hirales’ first title fight against Jesus Geles, which showed that Garcia was robbed of the decision. That bum verdict, we know, will not happen in the Philippines.
To Filipino fight fans and to our officials, with one or two occasional slip-ups, integrity in boxing must remain unquestioned. In fact, the decision of WBO president “Paco” Valcarcel to replace Joe Cortez with Robert Byrd as the referee for the fight demonstrated the WBO president’s own desire to make sure all goes well.
Cortez has had a bad spell, and the controversial “cheap shot” taken by Floyd Mayweather Jr. to knock out Victor Ortiz in the fourth round of their recent title fight hurt Cortez’s image more than that of Mayweather.
The series of “Pinoy Pride” presentations at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino have been unquestionably classy. That is why they continue to draw sell-out crowds with many foreigners, both men and women, flocking to the venue for an exciting evening of boxing.
No doubt fight fans in Bacolod and nearby towns and cities will come in droves to cheer him on and wish Donnie the best.
It’s bound to be a tough fight because Mexicans are intrinsically warriors and fight with the same grim determination and courage as Filipinos.
Now it’s up to all of us to rally around Donnie because, as we’ve harped on time and time again, he fights not just for himself but for our country.