Donnie Nietes (right) throws a right straight to Komgrich Nantapech of Thailand in this CDN file photo taken during their IBF world flyweight duel in April of last year in Cebu City.
The title defense of reigning International Boxing Federation (IBF) world flyweight champion Donnie “Ahas” Nietes against Argentinian former world title holder Juan Carlos Reveco has been added to the stacked card of HBO’s Boxing After Dark on February 24 at The Forum in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Nietes’ promoter Michael P. Aldeguer, the head of ALA Promotions International announced this latest development in the upcoming title defense of the Filipino three-division world champion.
In fact, Nietes, the country’s longest reigning world boxing champion and with his trainers Edito and Edmund Villamor will depart for Los Angeles today and continue their training camp there, Aldeguer informed.
HBO’s Boxing After Dark will now have a triple main event after the Nietes-Reveco bout was added.
The other main event bouts feature the title defense of WBC super flyweight king Srisaket Sor Rungvisai of Thailand versus former world champion Juan Francisco Estrada and the WBA world flyweight title duel between Fil-Hawaiian Brian Viloria and Ukranian Artem Dalakian.
“It will be a tough fight but Donnie (Nietes) has always had tough opponents being the longest reigning Filipino world champion and holding belts in three weight divisions,” Aldeguer told Cebu Daily News yesterday.
The 35-year old Nietes (40-1-4, 22 KO’s), the prized boxer of ALA Boxing Gym from Murcia, Negros Occidental, wrested the vacant IBF world flyweight title last April by outpointing Thai Komgrich Nantapech at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino. That win put him in the company of eight-division world champion Senator Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao and five-division world champion Nonito Donaire Jr.
“What makes this fight special is it will be on a bigger stage as part of the triple-header of the HBO telecast,” added Aldeguer.
The last time an ALA Boxing Gym boxer fought abroad did not turn out well after IBF world light flyweight champion Milan “El Metodico” Melindo lost to WBA world light flyweight champion Ryoichi Taguchi on New Year’s Eve in their world title unification battle in Tokyo, Japan.
Nietes is one of the two remaining Filipino world champions to date. The other is IBF world super flyweight king Jerwin “Pretty Boy” Ancajas.
The 34-year-old Reveco (39-3-0, 19 KO’s) meanwhile, defended his WBA title five times before losing it to Japanese Kazuto Ioka in 2015.
In his comeback in 2016, he beat Diego Luis Liriano of the Dominican Republic to win the vacant IBF Latino flyweight title by unanimous decision.
He earned the world title shot against Nietes by beating Nantapech last September by unanimous decision.
Nietes will train at the famed Wild Card Boxing Gym of Hall of Famer Freddie Roach in downtown Los Angeles.