NEGROS pride Donnie "Ahas" Nietes scored a knockout in the undercard bout of the “Boxing at the Bay: Collision Course" event held Saturday at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.
Boxing fans trooped to the Cuneta Astrodome on Saturday to witness "Boxing at the Bay: Collision Course." (Sunnex/Virgil Lopez)
The end came in the last 1:37 of the final round when Silvestre spit out his mouthpiece and refused to wear it back even when insisted upon by his corner prompting referee Ver Abainza to stop the fight.
“I was not expecting he (Silvestre) will play like that. He was good. I'm thankful I was able to win the fight,” Nietes told reporters after the fight.
The 27-year-old standout from Murcia, Negros Occidental earlier said he is going to stop Silvestre in the seventh round.
The other highlight saw Nietes scored a knockdown with a vicious right uppercut 40 seconds left in the opening round but the Mexican was tough as they traded punches round-after-round.
Nietes said he needs to take a rest after a grueling training where he initially shed off a pound before tipping the scales at the 107-lb limit during Friday’s weigh-in at the Centennial Hall of Manila Hotel.
The event's main undercard should have been a title defense for Nietes but was downgraded into a 10-round bout because his opponent isn’t world-rated, according to organizers.
Nietes, who now holds an impressive 26-1-3 record, 15 of them via stoppage, said he will defend his crown in the next few months.
Other Pinoys shine
In the other contests, Jimrex "Executioner" Jaca made a strong comeback after beating Ramadhan Weiru of Indonesia also by KO in the fifth round.
A perfectly made right uppercut, which Jaca capped with a left hook, enabled the Cebu-based boxer to complete the KO win with 2:58 in the fifth round.
Jaca was on a 15-month hiatus from boxing before this fight after suffering three consecutive defeats.
The 23-year-old Jaca had his last fight on October 22, 2008 where he suffered a second round technical knockout loss against Thailand’s Saddam Kietyongyuth in a 12-round bout for the WBC Asian Boxing Council lightweight crown.
Dodie Boy Penalosa Jr. also had a successful debut and knocked out Anthony Balubar in the second round.
The 18-year-old two-time amateur boxing national champion is the son of former two division world champion Dodie Boy Penalosa and nephew of famed WBO bantamweight champion Gerry Penalosa.
Jason Pagara of Misamis Oriental meanwhile received jeers from compatriots after a controversial majority win against another Indonesian Eddy Comaro in their 10-round bout.
The two judges scored the fight at 96-94 and 98-92 in favor of Pagara while the third judge saw the match 95-95.
The audience sympathized with Comaro via cheers and applauses while thanking the Filipino crowd. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)