Tag: Donnie Nietes

Nietes honored for feat as 4-division boxing champion

BACOLOD CITY — Filipino boxing champion Donnie Nietes was given a hero’s welcome by Bacolodnons for his rare feat of winning world titles in four divisions.

“I never imagined I would achieve four-division titles because I was so small as a young boy,” Nietes said in the local dialect during his homecoming press conference at Northwest Inn here Tuesday.



Donnie Nietes makes a number four sign to signify his world boxing championships in four divisions before the start of his homecoming press conference in Bacolod City on Tuesday, January 8, 2019.
Photo by Nanette L. Guadalquiver

The Negrense boxer, who was born in Murcia town and spent some of his growing years in neighboring Bacolod City, was honored by the city government to acknowledge his achievement that brought pride, not only to Bacolod City and Negros Occidental, but also to the Philippines.

After the press conference, Nietes went around the city’s major streets for a motorcade, which ended at the Bacolod City Government Center.

Nietes, 36, is only the third Filipino to become a four-division world champion after Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire.

Last December 31, he defeated Kazuto Ioka of Japan for the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) super flyweight title in Macau to win his fourth world title.

“I thank God for helping me deliver a good performance to win in my fourth division. I’m really happy that I made a name and a record for myself,” Nietes said, adding that his success is a result of his dedication and hard work during his training with the Cebu-based ALA Gym, which jumpstarted his professional career in 2003.

During the press conference, Nietes was joined by city officials headed by Mayor Evelio Leonardia, Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, and Rep. Greg Gasataya, as well as Bacolod Amateur Boxing Association (BABA) president Juan Ramon Guanzon. Members of his family, led by his father Josue, were also present.

The forerunner of Guanzon’s group, the Negros Amateur Boxing Association, had served as a training ground for aspiring Negrense boxers like Nietes.

“We join the BABA to honor and congratulate Donnie. This is really something we can all be proud of,” Leonardia said.

Guanzon thanked the city government for organizing the events to honor Nietes, who has remained humble and respectful despite his success.

“This is really a result of Donnie’s hard work,” he added.

Aside from his WBO minimumweight, light flyweight and superflyweight titles and his International Boxing Federation flyweight belt, Nietes is also the longest-reigning Filipino boxing world champion, surpassing in 2014 the record set by Gabriel “Flash” Elorde in 1967. (PNA)

Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1058320

Nietes ends 2018 as WBO super flyweight champ

The year 2018 ended on a big bang for Philippine sports as local icon Donnie Nietes became a world champion anew.
Banking on a 14-year winning streak, Nietes defeated Kazuto Ioka for the vacant World Boxing Organization super flyweight title at the Wynn Palace in Macau right on the final night of the year.
Nietes, who hails from Murcia, Negros Occidental, got the belt on his second try as he bounced back from his failure to capture the championship against Aston Palicte, in an all-Filipino bout at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, California on Sept. 9 that ended in a split draw.
Similar to how the judges scored the Nietes-Palicte bout, the Nietes-Ioka match ended in a split decision, with Nietes’ experience getting two of the referees’ nod this time.
In a back-and-forth action that saw both pugs having their own share of good rounds, Nietes emerged victorious after getting the nod of two of the three judges.
The two judges who saw Nietes winning gave out 118-110 and 116-112 scorecards respectively, while the other judge had it 116-112 for Ioka.
Nietes became the third Filipino four-division world champion, joining an elite club that only had Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire as members prior to Monday night.
Nietes remains unbeaten as well in his last 35 fights dating back to 2004.
Ioka lost for just the second time in his career, seeing his nine-game winning streak come to an end. (PNA)
Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1057772