Nietes, Banal face foreign boxers tonight in Bacolod

Bacolod City— Defending champion Ramon Hirales Garcia was jogging at a parking lot of a shopping mall here, trying to shed off some excess weight while Donnie Nietes was already munching on a plateful of spaghetti.

If his struggle to make the weight could be an omen, Garcia may be in for a rough ride when he and the dangerous Nietes tangle in tonight’s Pinoy Pride 9 boxing extravaganza at the University of St. La Salle Coliseum.

In a well-attended weigh-in ceremony at the SM City event center, Nietes exactly tipped the scale at 108 pounds, while Garcia was a pound over the limit.

Garcia had to strip off his underwear in his second try but was still three-fourth above the weight ceiling.

Garcia jogged at the parking lot for almost an hour before returning to the scale. He still failed to make it in his third attempt.

Taking off his gold necklace, Garcia, completely naked, stepped on the scale for the fourth time and heaved a huge sigh of relief when he finally hit the limit.

“He was just a pound over the limit but at this stage when the fight is already very near, it’s very hard to shed off the extra pounds. That could affect his power,” said Nietes’ trainer Edmond Villamor.

“Shedding off the extra weight could make him weak. Donnie will try to be patient and wait for Garcia to slow down. We discovered some of Garcia’s weaknesses and we’ll try to exploit that.”

Nietes was a picture of calmness after the weigh-in, saying he was excited in his bid to become a two-division world champion.

The 12-round bout will stake Garcia’s WBO lightflyweight crown.

“I feel relaxed. I feel even more relaxed than my first world title fight,” said Nietes, who sports a 28-1-3 (win-loss-draw) record, with 16 knockouts

“My whole family and relatives from Murcia town will be watching. I’ll do my best to make them proud,” said Nietes.

Garcia downplayed the weight problems.

“We’re using a different weighing scale in Mexico. That was nothing. I am here to win,” said Garcia, who has a 16-2-1 record with 9 KOs.

NOT A BIG ADVANTAGE FOR NIETES

ALA Gym founder Antonio Aldeguer said Garcia’s weight struggle won’t decide the outcome of the fight.

“That could have been crucial if he was three or four pounds overweight. That was just one pound,” said Aldeguer.

But Aldeguer expressed optimism of a Nietes victory.

“Donnie knows how to win. He showed he can win in Mexico and it is a big advantage for him that he is fighting in his hometown.”

Aldeguer said it doesn’t matter if Garcia is the defending champion.

“He is a world champion but Nietes is also a world champion and he didn’t lose that world title,” said Aldeguer.

Nietes won the WBO minimumweight world title at the expense of Thailand’s Pornsawan Porpramuok last Sept. 30 at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino

Nietes relinquished the title when his fight with Ramon’s twin brother Raul did not materialize. That fight could have been a face-off between the regular champion and the interim champion.

The cancellation prompted Nietes to move up to a heavier division, sealing his date with Ramon.

Serving as an appetizer to the night’s main event is the battle between AJ ‘Bazooka’ Banal (25W-19KOs-1L-1D) and the undefeated Mario Briones (20W-14KOs-1D) of Mexico.