PINATUNAYAN ni Pinoy boxer Donnie "Ahas" Nietes ang pagiging No. 1 flyweight boxer sa buong mundo nang patulugin sa ikapitong round si dating WBA light flyweight at flyweight champion Juan Carlos Reveco ng Argentina nitong Linggo para mapanatili ang kanyang IBF 112 pounds title sa The Forum, Inglewood, California sa United States.
“Before stopping Argentina’s Reveco, Nietes mostly impressed with his defense. Reveco tried every which way to hit Nietes to the head and body, but had little success, as Nietes kept his hands held high and blocked most of Reveco’s body blows,” ayon sa ulat ng Boxingscene.com.
“Nietes nailed Reveco with a sweeping left hook that knocked him flat on his back 26 seconds into the seventh round in the opener of HBO’s ‘Boxing After Dark’ tripleheader from The Forum in Inglewood, California,” dagdag sa ulat. “Reveco reached his feet, but didn’t respond well to referee Eddie Hernandez Sr. commands. His corner men asked Hernandez to stop the bout before the action resumed.”
Ito ang unang depensa sa IBF title ni Nietes na natamo niya sa panalo sa puntos kay Komgrich Nantapech ng Thailand noong Abril 29, 2017 sa Cebu City. Si Nantapech din ang tinalo sa puntos ni Reveco para maging mandatory contender ni Nietes.
Tiyak na masasabak sa malaking laban si Nietes lalo’t ito ang ikatlo niyang impresibong panalo sa US sa pagtalo kina Mexicans two-time world title challenger Juan Alejo at dating world champion Edgar Sosa.
Posibleng ikasa si Nietes kay three-division world champion Roman Gonzalez ng Nicaragua para sa bakanteng WBO super flyweight title o kay bagong WBA flyweight champion Artem Dalakian ng Ukraine na tumalo sa puntos kay Filipino American Brian Viloria.
Gumanda ang rekord ni Nietes sa 41-1-4 na may 23 panalo sa knockouts samantalang bumagsak ang kartada ni Reveco sa 39 na panalo, 4 na talo na may 19 pagwawagi sa knockouts. - Gilbert Espeña