By Cliff Rold
In a weekend where the PBC makes its ESPN debut and HBO Latino gives us a solid Jr. Welterweight clash, the best fight of the week on paper goes to a network that has been a source of gems for the last two years.
On tape delay (Saturday, 12 AM EST), BeIn Sports Espanol will broadcast the best Jr. Flyweight title fight since the 2010 Ring Magazine Fight of the Year, Giovani Segura’s first win over Ivan Calderon. On one side of the ring, an underrated two-division Filipino titlist who may soon be heading to his third weight division; on the other, a former unified 105 lb. beltholder who won the 2014 BoxingScene and ESPN Fight of the Year.
Donnie Nietes vs. Francisco Rodriguez Jr.
It looks like a damn good fight.
It also looks like a potential statement fight for the winner.
The ultimate statement will be about where each man falls in the pecking order at 108 lbs. The division, sort of just floating along in recent years, has seen a charge of new life. Mexico’s Pedro Guevara (WBC) and Javier Mendoza (IBF) have emerged as exciting, young battlers that give the division a future. Its leader is still clearly the veteran class of the Jr. Flyweight division.
Quietly, WBO and Ring Magazine champion Donnie Nietes (35-1-4, 21 KO) has built one of the most consistent championship resumes in boxing. Undefeated since a 2004 split decision loss to Angky Angkotta, Nietes has won WBO belts at 105 and 108 lbs. with multiple defenses in each class. His title fight record stands at 11-0-1 with quality wins over Pornsawan Porpramook, Jesus Silvestre, Mario Rodriguez, Ramon Garcia, and Moises Fuentes along the way.
His win over the former 105 lb. titlist Fuentes last year in their second of two fights was a real eye opener. After settling for a draw in a good first fight, Nietes came up with a career best performance. Three knockdowns in round nine finished the contest and it was easy to wonder, ‘are too many overlooking this guy?’
Nietes reminds a bit of a former champion from his native land, Gerry Penalosa. He’s not high on special effects but he’s fundamentally excellent, a skilled practitioner who just keeps winning even as he ages. The 33-year old talked last year of a move into the deep, rugged pool currently assembled at Flyweight. A win this weekend would be a statement that he’s ready for that move.
A victorious Nietes in the mix with Roman Gonzalez, Juan Francisco Estrada, Amnat Ruenroeng, Kazuto Ioka, Brian Viloria, and Juan Carlos Reveco would make arguably the best division in boxing even better. With the calendar working against him, the impetus would be on Nietes to go for big fights sooner.
Francisco Rodriguez Jr. (17-2-1, 11 KO) will have other plans.
Since a one-sided stoppage loss to Gonzalez in 2013, Rodriguez has emerged as a world-class component in the sub-Flyweight classes. His 2014 was one of the best campaigns in boxing, capturing titles in consecutive fights at 105 lbs. In March of last year, Rodriguez got a crack at undefeated Filipino WBO titleholder Merlito Sabillo. A perceived underdog, Rodriguez scored an early knockdown and kept his foot on the pedal. Ultimately, he forced a stoppage in ten.
His next fight turned out to be the best scrap of the year.
Matched with Japanese veteran Katsunari Takayama, Rodriguez had a chance to add the IBF belt to his mantle in a rare 105 lb. unification tilt. The action was breathless and breathtaking, so thrilling that the great Julio Cesar Chavez rose from his position as a television announcer to cheer for both men in the final round as they let loose well over 100 punches apiece.
Since the Takayama win, Rodriguez has faced Filipino Jamar Fajardo twice at Flyweight settling for a head scratching draw on the road the first time and picking up the relatively easy rematch win. Now he’s back at the championship level against his best opponent since Gonzalez.
With a win, Rodriguez would stamp himself the leader at a second weight class and make a statement that his title wins last year were about his growth as a professional and not the sometimes suspect smallest division in boxing. Only 21, the relentless Rodriguez will also have a chance to make a statement about his maturity as a professional and perhaps even his long-term chances higher on the scale.
Having spent a large chunk of his career at Flyweight (112 lbs.) or higher, Rodriguez is boiling down for title opportunities lower on the scale. The possibilities of mixing him with fellow Mexicans Guevara and Mendoza at 108, or moving up to face his countryman Estrada, would be highly intriguing with a win this weekend.
This Saturday at the Cebu City Waterfront Casino in the Philippines, someone is going to make a statement. Whoever that man turns out to be will be positioned to have a big say on the future at 108 and 112 lbs. in the next couple years.
Before we get to the future, let’s hope this damn good fight on paper turns out to be just that in the ring.
Cliff’s Notes…
Congrats to the US Women’s World Cup team but will the public support these great athletes more than once every four years? That will be the big question going forward…Wladimir Klitschko-Tyson Fury is going to be a blast every sound bite to the ring. Will it be any good between the strands? Let’s hope so…Remember when watching Mauricio Herrera-Hank Lundy on HBO Latino that this should be Herrera defending the legitimate world title at 140 lbs. Bad decisions matter long after the night in question far too often…Short of a Gonzalez-Estrada rematch, an Estrada-Viloria rematch at Flyweight sounds great. It would be interesting to see what Viloria has left after toeing the water in boxing since the loss to Estrada…Is anyone surprised Bernard Hopkins will be fighting again? He was never going to pass up the chance to go at fifty. Hell, he made it this far.
Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com