FILE – Philippines’ Donnie Nietes (L) poses for photographs during the weigh-in for the ‘Lifetime Boxing Fights 1’ in Macau on December 30, 2018. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines—Donnie “Ahas” Nietes has made weight for his International super flyweight title clash against Colombia’s Pablo Carillo in Dubai.
The Filipino pugilist weighed in at 114.8 pounds while Carillo came in at 114.6 pounds according to D4G Boxing Promotions’ Twitter account.
This will be Nietes’ first fight since 2018 when he defeated Kazuto Ioka on New Year’s Eve for the vacant WBO World super flyweight championship.
WEIGH-IN RESULTS ⚖️
Donnie Nietes: 52.1kg (114.8lbs)
Pablo Carrillo: 52kg (114.6lbs)Live Stream ⏩ https://t.co/NrKfH4fIEh
📍 Dubai
📅 SATURDAY#LegacyDubai #HerringFrampton #DonnieNietes #NietesCarrillo pic.twitter.com/eS4WvthIse— D4G Boxing Promotions (@d4gboxing) April 2, 2021
Nietes’ fight against Carillo will be for the sanctioning body’s International title in the 115-lb division.
Though Nietes was a former World champion, he vacated the maroon belt in 2019 after the WBO ordered him to defend the strap against compatriot Aston Palicte as he saw no point putting the championship on the line after such a controversial decision.
FINAL FACE-OFF 👀
Donnie Nietes 🆚 Pablo Carrillo
Live Stream ⏩ https://t.co/NrKfH4fIEh
📍 Dubai
📅 SATURDAY#LegacyDubai #HerringFrampton #DonnieNietes #NietesCarrillo pic.twitter.com/fPnqPfIl5m— D4G Boxing Promotions (@d4gboxing) April 2, 2021
The two faced each other in September 2018 and the fight ended in a controversial draw with judge Max DeLuca the only one with an even scorecard, 114-114, while Daniel Sandoval ruled the bout in Nietes’ favor, 118-110, and Robert Hoyle giving the win to Palicte, 116-112.
Another reason why Nietes vacated the title was to face the 115-lb division’s other champions, but a plan was never put to action.
Both Nietes (42-1-5) and Carillo (25-7-1) are coming into 2021 after being inactive in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nietes hasn’t lost a bout since 2004 when he suffered a split decision loss to Angry Angkotta while Carillo has back-to-back wins and three victories in his last four fights.