By Jake Donovan
Donnie Nietes made it two straight on the evening for the budding Philippines-Mexico rivalry, taking a well-deserved, though strangely scored, split decision over Manuel Vargas in televised preliminary action on the “Latin Fury 11” pay-per-view telecast from El Palenque de la Feria in Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico.
Both fighters weighed 104 ¾, just below the 105 lb strawweight limit.
Giving away considerable height and reach advantages to his Mexican challenger, Nietes’ best chance of winning was to force a firefight. Such was precisely how he spent the opening round, immediately taking the fight to Vargas, firing with right hands and uppercuts whenever he was within punching range, which was often.
The tactic clearly gained the attention of Vargas, who responded in the second round. Nietes was standing his ground, but forced to play a little more defense than expected as Vargas repeatedly landed to the body and head. His newfound aggression drew a raucous cheer from his countryman in attendance, who chanted his nickname “Chango” (“monkey) in approval.
Nietes quickly transformed from puncher to boxer in search of the best course of action to fend off a suddenly highly motivated Vargas. The jab became the Filipino’s weapon of choice, though doing little to disrupt Vargas’ rhythm, as he closed the round with a flurry while Nietes was trapped in the corner.
It was a different tale in the fourth, as Nietes rediscovered his power game. The uppercut returned to his offensive attack, to which Vargas had few answers even on the occasions when he was able to block the punch. Both fighters enjoyed success to the body when trading on the inside, though it was a round in which Nietes was clearly the busier fighter.
Vargas showed a world-class chin in the fifth, though all it means is that he took way too many punches. Nietes landed several bombs in the round, including a left hook and several straight rights. To his credit, Vargas took all of the shots well and found enough energy to offer a shoeshine in the final 15 seconds, though hardly enough to atone for the 2:45 he all but gave away in order to get to that point.
Chants of “Chango!” resurfaced in the sixth, another furiously paced round which saw a ferocious body attack by Vargas. Nietes hardly took kindly to the incoming, offering very little in return, save for an uppercut and left hand late in the round. He appeared to punch himself out as he slowed down considerably in the seventh, allowing Nietes to regain momentum, though opening up in the final 30 seconds of the round.
Momentum continued to shift back and forth seemingly round-by-round, with the eighth no exception. After taking off for most of the seventh, Vargas picked up the pace in the eighth, continuing to target the body and also coming back upstairs. As had been the case in every round prior, Vargas attempted to pick up the pace at the end of the round, though Nietes was now keen to the tactic, immediately reacting before his opponent could get off his punches.
Action slowed in the ninth, understandably so considering the heavy volume of punches thrown to that point. Nietes spend most of the round boxing, while Vargas kept his sights affixed on the body. One shot strayed well below the border seconds before the bell to close the round, with Vargas drawing a warning from the referee.
The low blow appeared to awaken Nietes, who came out invigorated in the tenth. The Filipino resumed his earlier role of aggressor, landing to the body while Vargas was far too passive at a point in the fight when every remaining round was crucial.
Such urgency was expressed in the Mexican’s corner, as his handlers demanded he win the last two rounds if he wanted to win the fight. Nietes wasn’t too keen on giving away rounds, outworking the Mexican in the 11th, though a Vargas left hand momentarily stunned him, much to the delight of the partisan crowd.
The Filipino employed a similar tactic in the 12th and final round, this time with a twist: throw combinations and then clinch before Vargas could let his hands go. The crowd didn’t like it, nor did the ridiculously biased broadcast team (particularly Top Rank homer and former junior middleweight titlist Raul Marquez), but it allowed Nietes to cross the finish line, with hopes of escaping the Mexican bullring with his alphabet title still in tow.
Much to the crowd’s (and Marquez’) dismay, the judges picked the right winner, although their scorecards were all over the place. Vargas won on one scorecard by a margin of 116-112, but was overruled by absurd margins of 116-110 and 118-110.
Nietes moves to 25-1(13KO) with the win, his 12th straight and also his third successful title defense. It also marked his second consecutive decision win in Mexico, with both of his ring appearances in 2009 taking place South of the Border.
Vargas sees a modest two-fight win streak come to an end, falling to 26-4-1 (11KO).
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.
