Donnie Nietes of Philippines (back) and Japan’s Kazuto Ioka fight during their WBO world super flyweight title match in Tokyo on July 13, 2022. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines — Frustrated from his unanimous decision defeat to Kazuto Ioka, Donnie Nietes believes he still has plenty left in the tank to regain a world title.
The 40-year-old Filipino boxer fell to hometown bet Ioka in his bid to reclaim the World Boxing Organization (WBO) world junior bantamweight title last Wednesday at Ota-City Gymnasium in Tokyo.
“I lost the fight on points, and I felt that Ioka did not want to try and deliver a knockout win for his fans and was just happy to win the fight on the scorecards,” Nietes told Probellum.
“I was not able to put as much pressure on Ioka as I would have liked. I was waiting for Ioka to move in and throw his shots so that I could hit him with my big counters, but it didn’t happen often enough,” he added.
But losing the rematch of his 2018 clash against the Japanese won’t stop him from striving to reach the top again.
“I was defeated but, without question, I can still fight for world titles again,” Nietes said.
The former four-weight champion said he is not yet done as he eyes joining an exclusive list of fighters who have won world titles in their 40s.
“There is no doubt in my mind that I can challenge once again, and I see myself probably having one or two more fights at world level before I hang up my gloves inside the ring,” Nietes said