Thursday, November 29, 2007 Nietes fights Gutierrez
THERE will be no Chrismas break for WBO minimumweight champion Donnie “Ahas” Nietes as he gears up his training for his first title defense early next year.
Nietes will be challenged by Mexican Sammy Gutierrez, rated No.4, on Jan. 26 in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental—the place where he started boxing.
The 25-year-old puncher from Murcia, a neighboring municipality of Bacolod, won the vacant WBO 105-pound title by beating Pornsawan Kratingdaenggym of Thailand via a hard-earned unanimous decision last Sept. 30.
Parading a 22-1-3 win-loss-draw record, including 13 wins via knockout, Nietes racked up nine straight wins since a technical draw with Niño Suelo in July 2005.
Of those wins, Nietes had four stoppages—three within the first two rounds and one in the seventh.
Gutierrez, an orthodox fighter who stands at 5-foot-3 inches, however, is no pushover and could give the Filipino a run for his title. The 21-year-old challenger from Puebla, Mexico holds a promising 19-2-2, 13 KOs record. He is also the reigning Mexican minimumweight champion and has won four of his last five bouts.
Although Nietes is unfazed by the credentials of his challenger, the first ALA Boy world champion is leaving no stone unturned and has loaded himself with heavy training and promised not to stop working at the gym even on Christmas and New Year’s Day. (RCM)
