by Ronnie Nathanielsz
ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer plans to stage a voluntary title defense of WBO light flyweight champion Donnie “Ahas” Nietes sometime in September in Dubai.
Aldeguer spoke to the Manila Standard following his return from the United Arab Emirates along with vice president Dennis Canete and ABS-CBN Sports Peter Musngi who joined them in Dubai for a series of meetings with officials of The Filipino Channel headed by Maribel Rodriguez and various events specialists.
The Dubai fight card is just one part of the exciting expansion plans of ALA Promotions in partnership with the giant broadcast network ABS-CBN which will also see fight cards promoted in the United States sometime next year.
Musngi told us that “more venues are available in September” and that was the reason for not pushing the title fight to October when “lots of things are happening.”
With the large Filipino community in Dubai who have enjoyed the highly successful “Pinoy Pride” series telecast “live” on The Filipino Channel of ABS-CBN, Musngi said “the prospects are great.”
However, the ABS-CBN vice president for sports said staging a fight card in Dubai “will be a little bit challenging” but expressed confidence that working closely with ALA Promotions and The Filipino Channel and the goodwill they enjoy in the United Arab Emirates, it can be done.
Although the WBC minimumweight title fight staged by KO Promotions was a disaster with the fighters and ring officials not being paid, both ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN made it explicitly clear they have nothing to do with KO Promotions and its head Zack Taumafai.
In fact KO Promotions still owes ALA Promotions several thousand dollars for a fight card headed by Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista and Milan Melindo at The Lodge, Chi Garden on April 23, 2010 which was promoted solely by Taumafai and did not involve ALA Promotions or ABS-CBN.
