By Ronnie Nathanielsz
World Boxing Organization minimumweight champion Donnie Nietes has arrived in Mexico after some travel snafus delayed their team’s departure from Los Angeles and is ready to give it all he’s got in defending his title title against Mexico’s Erik Ramirez at the Auditorio Guelaguetza in Oaxaca in the southern part of Mexico on Sunday, Manila Time.
Boxing patron and chairman of the ALA Gym Tony Aldeguer informed insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports that he had received word from trainer Edmund Villamor that “everything is fine” and Nietes is eager to demonstrate the courage and the skill of Filipino fighters in the venue which is a theater on top of a hill built in 1974 and one which can accommodate 11,000 people.
Filipino boxing fans will get a chance to size up the 26 year old Ramirez who is ranked No. 2 by the WBO with a record of 25-5-1 with 19 knockouts in the top-rated weekly boxing show “The Main Event” on CS/9 at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday right after “live” coverage of the NBA Games.
In the show sponsored by Tanduay, the No. 1 Rhum and Pagcor and produced by
Viva Sports, fight fans will see highlights of Ramirez’ fights against Lorenzo Trejo in a WBC Continental Americas title showdown which also served as a WBC minimum weight title eliminator and his FEDABOX title fight against Vicente Rivera in April 2007.
In the title eliminator Ramirez dropped Trejo in the sixth round but he got off the canvas to score an impressive win in the very next round.. Since then Ramirez has won five fights in a row, four by knockouts and in his last fight on September 13, Ramirez won a unanimous ten round decision over Jose Ortiz in a battle for the vacant WBO Latino title.
One of the most accomplished boxers in the ALA Gym, Nietes is also 26 years old and has a record of 23-1-3 with 14 knockouts.
He won the vacant world title with a twelve round unanimous decision over Thailand’s Pornsawan Kartingdaenggym on September 30, 2007 and scored an impressive second round knockout over Eddie Castro last August 30 at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu City.
Nietes dropped Castro in the first and second rounds before putting him away for good at 2:49 of the second round when Castro was counted out by referee Raul Caiz Jr.
