Fight against Hirales a tough test—Nietes

DONNIE Nietes attempts to bag his second world title when he faces WBO world light flyweight champion Ramon Garcia Hirales of Mexico in the 9th edition of the Pinoy Pride series on Oct. 8 at the University of St. La Salle Gymnasium in Bacolod City.

The event is considered to be the biggest fight in the country this year as it will offer a rare scenario wherein a champion will be staking his title in the hometown of the challenger.

Nietes, who sports a 28-1-3 (win-loss-draw) record with 16 knockouts, is a native of Bacolod City.

ALA Boxing Promotions president and CEO Michael Aldeguer said it took him almost a year to put up this fight.

“It was not easy to organize such an event. We consider this as an emotional fight for everyone because there’s a lot at stake. So it’s going to be a very great boxing card in Bacolod,” said Aldeguer.

For Nietes, this bout is his biggest test so far after successfully defending his WBO world minimum weight title in the hostile grounds of Mexico. He is also aiming to extend his 15-game win streak.

“Ready na gyud ko ani. Grabe akong pangandam ani nga away kay importante kaayo ni para nako,”  said Nietes, a former janitor of the ALA Boxing gym.

Meanwhile, AJ “Bazooka” Banal will take on Mexican WBC Fecombox super bantamweight champion Mario “Maca” Briones (20-0-1 14KOs) in the undercard of the Nietes-Garcia Hirales bout.

Briones has a knockout percentage of 66.67 percent. Eight of his 21 opponents failed to go beyond two rounds and five more failed to last the distance.

Banal hopes to perform well in this fight to gain a shot at avenging his loss to Rafael Concepcion.

“This is  a great fight for AJ before facing Concepcion,” said Aldeguer.

Meanwhile, Bacolod City’s pride Arthur “El Matador” Villanueva aims  to create his own milestone as he is set to face Kenyan Shaaban Madilu in the undercard

Another attraction for the PP9 will be the championship bout for the vacant OPBF minimum weight title between Bacolod’s Merlito Sabillo and Tejares Singwancha of Baguio City.

Jason Pagara’s younger brother, Prince Albert, will square off against Richard Donaire of General Santos City. ALA Gym’s famous Jun Intor will fight Gilbert Garciano while JP Artieda of Bacolod will square off with  Japanese Kazuya Harada. Reymund Tabogon will also take on Lito Dante in another match.

Meanwhile, ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN will present the boxing protagonists today for a grand media and fans day at the SM City Bacolod.  /CORRESPONDENT DALE G. ROSAL