FOUR-division world champion Donnie Nietes returns to action from a long layoff at dawn Sunday, April 4, 2021, in a World Boxing Organization (WBO) International super flyweight fight with Colombian Pablo Carrillo in one of the featured fights of D4G Promotions’ “Legacy” show at the Rotunda of the Caesars Palace Bluewaters in Dubai, UAE.
Nietes and Carrillo are scheduled to fight at 3 a.m. (PH time).
Nietes weighed in at 114.9 pounds, while Carrillo was a bit lighter at 114.6 pounds.
Even though Nietes is considered one of the best Filipino fighters ever, he isn’t taking this fight lightly.
“We shouldn’t take any chances,” Nietes’ long-time trainer and close friend Edmund Villamor told SunStar Cebu.
The 38-year-old Nietes is coming off a two-year hiatus and has not seen action since winning his fourth division world title last Dec. 31, 2018. He beat Japanese star Kazuto Ioka, who’s now the WBO super flyweight champion, by split decision in Macau.
Carrillo should be a good gauge if Nietes is still at the world-class level because the former faced some elite names. He has fought the likes of world champions Francisco Rodriguez Jr., Luis Concepcion and Ioka.
Carrillo, 32, also has not fought for quite some time. His last fight was on Aug. 23, 2019, when he stopped Luis Golindano in the fifth round.
“Donnie should maintain his focus in the fight and watch out for Carrillo’s best punches,” said Villamor.
Nietes, considered one of the best fighters in the lower divisions in this era, is 42-1-5 with 23 knockouts, while Carrillo is 25-7-1 with 16 knockouts.
Nietes holds the record as the longest reigning Filipino world champion. He won world titles in minimumweight, light flyweight, flyweight and super flyweight.
Nietes hopes to once again break into the world rankings and fight some of the best in the division, the likes of Juan Francisco Estrada, Roman Gonzalez, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and Ioka. (EKA)