SAC to honor amateur, pro boxing champions in 30th Sports Awards

Thursday, February 16, 2012

DONNIE “Ahas” Nietes of the ALA gym moved up in weight and won a second world title belt when he dethroned WBO light flyweight champion Ramon Garcia Hirales of Mexico by unanimous decision in Bacolod City last October.

His second world title enabled the unassuming former janitor to join the list of Filipino world boxing champions who have won titles in two or more weight categories—Dodie Boy Penalosa, Luisito Espinosa, Gerry Penalosa, Nonito Donaire, Brian Viloria and Manny Pacquiao.

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This feat qualifies him once again to be one of the major awardees in the Sportswriters Association of Cebu-San Miguel Brewery Cebu Sports Awards on March 3.

Nietes’s other fight in 2011 was on April 9, when he knocked out another Mexican, Armando Vasquez, in one round in a non-title bout, also held in Bacolod City.

Amateur standouts Jack Tepora and Daryl Pucdol of Team Cebu City will be given citations for winning gold medals in the 2011 PLDT-Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) National Championships in Misamis Oriental. Tepora was also a memberof the national team that competed last December in Pakistan.

Promoter Sammy Sammy Gello-ani was the recipient of the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Asia-Pacific Promoter of the Year award last October 2011 in an awards ceremony during the WBO Convention in Puerto Rico. (Pooled Report)