Give Nietes due respect; no rematch, please

Aston Palicte, the clear loser, said he wants to do a rematch with Donnie Nietes.

That’s absurd; as senseless as demanding to be rewarded for a bungled job.

There was widespread displeasure over the mucky scoring of the WBO super flyweight championship fight in California Sunday.

The fight was hideously scored a split draw, thereby depriving Nietes, 36, of a victory that could’ve installed him as the third Filipino to have captured world crowns in (at least) four separate classes. Manny Pacquiao has a total of eight division crowns while Nonito Donaire Jr. has four.

The famous globe-trotting Filipino sports journalist Homer Sayson called Nietes a masterpiece.

Nietes, star of the ALA Stable and lone Filipino to have reigned longest as world champion, was clearly superior.

Philboxing.com founder and executive editor Dong Secuya said Nietes scored a classy, dominant victory.

“The older and smaller Nietes used his craft to break down Palicte, who was on survival mode in the last round,” Secuya reported. “Palicte used his longer reach and power punches to impose his will on Nietes but the wily veteran used sharp and subtle moves to consistently land clean punches.”

The WBO ringside panel of Max Kellerman, Jim Lampley and Andre Ward was unanimous in picking Nietes the solid winner. They declared the split draw a “really bad decision.”

Secuya scord it 117-111 for Nietes. Harold Lederman, who did scoring for WBO, had Nietes on top, 117-111. This reporter saw cool, calculating Nietes winner by at least five points.

There was boiling disdain among boxing fans out in the streets the morning after.

In the “talipapa” row of makeshift fish and vegetable stalls in Hulo, Mandaluyong City, male fans were one in decrying what they felt was a great injustice—“Kitang-kita dinaya, walanghiya!.”

They also appeared raring to mount a protest.

There was dishonesty and incompetence on the part of two judges. But what these boxing devotees abhorred was the likelihood of a rematch.

Nietes, denied of a clear victory, should be repaid with a bout against a worthier opponent.

Making him fight Palicte a second time would be a disgrace.
Nietes, noble warrior and champion, should be accorded all the respect he wholly deserves.

He should be made to fight a foreign opponent, maybe a champion, in a bout to be judged honestly and competently, not necessarily under the WBO.