MANILA, Philippines - WBO lightflyweight champion Donnie Nietes said yesterday retirement is far from his mind and at the age of 33 with 13 years of prizefighting in his ledger, he feels like he’s only 18.
Nietes, who’s in the record books as the longest reigning Filipino world boxing champion with an uninterrupted reign of eight years and counting, put no age limit to his ring career. “It’s up to my body and right now, I feel okay,” said Nietes in Pilipino. “I’m excited to fight in the US for the first time. It means a lot to get an impressive result because of the US market. That’s my motivation. I know there are big fights waiting out there.”
Nietes makes his US debut against Mexican challenger Juan Alejo at the Sub Hub Center in Carson City, California, on Oct. 17. It’s the main event of “Pinoy Pride 33 – Filipinos Contra Latinos,” ALA Promotions’ first US venture with ABS-CBN. Nietes has fought thrice in Mexico and thrice in Indonesia but never anywhere else except in the Philippines. His last 10 fights were on home soil.
“It doesn’t matter where I fight,” said Nietes. “I block out from my mind where I am. All I know is what I must do to win. Alejo is a tough counterpuncher. He stays in front of you and that’s how I like it. He’s quick and he’s strong. He reminds me of two Mexican fighters I fought before, Mario Rodriguez and Moises Fuentes. Of all the fighters I’ve faced, Fuentes was the hardest. Our first fight was a draw. I tried to fight him on his terms. He’s a good body puncher. In the rematch, I didn’t go bell to bell with him. I boxed him, I got my timing right and I knocked him out.”
Nietes said eclipsing Flash Elorde’s record of seven years and three months as a world champion wasn’t meant to disrespect the late fighter. “Of course, it means a lot to me to break the record but I did it for our country, ALA management and my family,” he said. “The honor isn’t mine alone. It’s an inspiration for younger fighters to work hard. Whenever I fight, I’m always ready to give it my all regardless of whether a record is at stake or not.”
Nietes will leave for the US any day now, as soon as he is issued his visa by the US Embassy, and train at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles. “I’m excited to spar with Brian (Viloria) who’s fighting (WBC flyweight champion Roman) Chocolatito (Gonzalez) (in New York) on the same night I’m fighting Alejo,” he said. “I think Brian will beat Chocolatito on points. I’ve seen Chocolatito fight. He was in the undercard of my fight against Erik Ramirez in Mexico in 2009. I think I can also beat Chocolatito but only on points. Brian will box him in and out. Someday, I hope I can fight Chocolatito because he’s one of the best fighters in the lower weights.”
At the Wild Card Gym, Nietes said he’ll work with his trainer Edmund Villamor and maybe, get pointers from Freddie Roach. “When I trained at Wild Card before, Freddie gave me some tips on technique like timing my hook after my opponent throws a straight,” he said. “I started training for Alejo mid-August and so far, I’ve sparred four rounds with Ralph Lulu and two each with Virgel Vitor and Raul Yu. I’ll do more rounds before I leave then continue my training at Wild Card.”
Nietes said down the road, he’d like to unify the 108-pound championship. He holds the WBO version while Mexico’s Pedro Guevara is the WBC champion, Japan’s Ryoichi Taguchi the WBA titleholder and Mexico’s Javier Mendoza the IBF king. “I’m open to fighting anyone,” he said. “It’s up to ALA to decide whom I’ll fight. To be the unified lightflyweight champion is a goal. I have no problem staying in the 108-pound division but if there’s an opportunity for a big flyweight fight, I can move up just as easily. I’m confident in what I can do in the ring. When I don’t have a fight, I keep in shape playing basketball and biking. Even if I’m not in the gym, I’m working out. The most I’ve weighed is 123 pounds. But I can go down to 108 little by little over one to two months. I watch what I eat. I never allow myself to get big.”
With what he’s earned over the years, Nietes has been able to build two homes in Mandaue and Bacolod. He stays in a two-bedroom, 100-square meter house in Mandaue with his cousin Reyalln Liboon and two pet snakes, one of which is a five-year-old, three-meter long Burmese python. His wife Ligaya and their two daughters Dionne Nicole, 4, and Dianne Coline, 2, live in the Bacolod house. Nietes also set up a store selling feeds and rice for his father Josue, 57, and mother Renilla, 55, to manage. He has invested in a buy-and-sell business with Japanese surplus multi-cabs.
Nietes is the only fighter in the family. Older brother Junel, 35, works in an accounting office while younger sister Joann, 30, is single and lives with her parents in Bacolod. When Nietes leaves for the US, his sister will stay in Mandaue to take care of his pet snakes which consume a kilo of chicken heads a week.
Nietes said his all-time boxing favorites are Manny Pacquiao and his uncle Dan Nietes, a former Philippine flyweight champion. On the foreign front, his idols are Oscar de la Hoya and Roy Jones, Jr. Asked if he ever fears for his life when in the ring, Nietes replied, “I trust in my training that I’m prepared for every fight and I leave everything up to God … I’m not afraid of what might happen in the ring because I know God will protect me.”