CEBU CITY—Donnie “Ahas” Nietes will try to include Moises Fuentes to his list of Mexican victims when they clash for his World Boxing Organization light flyweight crown tonight in the main event of Pinoy Pride 18 at Waterfront Cebu City Hotel.
Though he’s billed the slight favorite in the 12-round showdown, Nietes will be facing tall odds against the brash Fuentes, the WBO minimumweight champion.
Fuentes is in his prime at 26 years old, towers over Nietes by four inches at 5-foot-7 and enjoys a 4 1/2-inch reach advantage. On paper, the Mexican is also the heavier puncher with 20 knockouts in 26 wins against a lone loss.
The 31-year-old Nietes, who holds a 31-1 record with 17 KOs, however, is no stranger to the ways of Mexican fighters, having beaten the seven he’d met thus far, including three in Mexico. Nietes, in fact, took the 108-pound title from another Mexican, Ramon Garcia-Hirales, in Bacolod City in 2011.
Though he respects Nietes’ skills, Fuentes said he knows how to beat the Filipino, having seen all his three victories at home. Fuentes added he has sparred for 138 rounds, including some against former world champion Edgar Sosa, in preparing for his mission to dethrone Nietes.
“Nietes will have to fall,” Fuentes said in an earlier interview.
Based on his fifth round demolition of Puerto Rican legend Ivan Calderon last year, Fuentes is a vicious body puncher.
The protagonists came in at 108 during yesterday’s weigh-in at SM Cebu Events Center.
In the main support, unbeaten Genesis “Azukal” Servania will stake his WBO Asia-Pacific super bantam crown against Indonesia Angky “Time Bomb” Angkotta, who’s best remembered for handing Nietes his lone loss by split decision in 2004.
Servania, 19-0 with six KOs, checked in at 122 lb while Angkotta (26-8-1 with 14 KOs), tipped the scales at 120.5.
Another televised bout will pit Jimrex “The Executioner” Jaca against Thai Rachamongkol Sor Pleonchit.
Jaca (36-6-3 with 26 KOs) weighed in at 142.5, 2.5 heavier than Plonchit (13-4 with 5 KOs), a former Muay Thai practitioner.
Team Fuentes, composed of his manager Jorge Barrrera and trainers Genaro Segura and Aaron Rodriguez, got a boost with the arrival of three-division world champion and two-time Manny Pacquiao victim Marco Antonio Barrera Thursday night.