Donnie Nietes: The legacy that could’ve been

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Donnie Nietes has heard – and disregarded – dismissive remarks made about his upcoming opponent, Komgrich Nantapech. 

A good portion of boxing fans have probably never heard of the Thai boxer whom Donnie Nietes will face this Saturday, April 29 at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu City with the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) flyweight title at stake. Those who have heard of him probably remember his losses in the Philippines to Albert Pagara and Froilan Saludar years back and are wondering how he rose to be rated the number contender 4 by the IBF.

Nantapech is 7 years younger at 27 with a record of 22-3 (15 knockouts) but hasn’t beaten any fighters known by people other than the most hardcore Asian club fight enthusiasts.

“I don’t care what people say [about] him, but as far as I’m concerned, I just need to focus on our fight,” said Nietes (39-1-4, 22 KOs). Nietes, both a model of modesty and consistency, went as far as saying he was sure of a win, while still holding back in his bravado. 

“In my opinion, I can really handle him. It’s possible for me to knock him out, but we’re not looking for that [knockout],” he said.

The result to many may not be a matter of if, but how, he will win. But if he wins, he’ll join Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire Jr as the only boxers from the Philippines to win world titles in at least 3 divisions. It’s a lofty achievement for a fighter who started as the janitor of the ALA Gym and later became the promotion’s crown jewel.

But respect has been elusive for Nietes, and a big reason for that has been the lack of big names on his resume’. He’s 14-0-1 in title fights, winning the World Boxing Organization (WBO) titles at strawweight and junior flyweight. His only loss came in Indonesia in 2004 against a fighter who outweighed him by 6 pounds.

His biggest wins have been a knockout of Moises Fuentes in 2014 and a one-sided decision over Francisco Rodriguez Jr in 2015. Both are former world champions but wouldn’t move the needle when Hall of Fame ballots are passed out. Nietes also defeated ex-champs Edgar Sosa and Raul Garcia when both were on the decline.

“There’ll always be questions about him,” admits ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer. “I really feel bad for the guy because he hasn’t had big fights. I know this is a big fight, all the world title fights are big fights. But I know people are asking…they want to see if Donnie is there. 

“The only way you can define a fighter’s greatness is who have they fought? I think Donnie deserves that chance.”

Part of the thinness of his resume’ has been the lack of big names in the sport’s lightest divisions, and the other part has been an inability to close deals with the big names that were around.

Aldeguer says he’s had discussions with HBO Executive Vice President Peter Nelson about fighting former pound-for-pound champion Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (“They said yes that’s a good fight”), and says he had a deal in place with Mexico’s Zanfer Promotions to face Juan Francisco Estrada for the WBA/WBO flyweight titles last September on the date Nietes fought Sosa at StubHub Center in Carson, California. Both fights didn’t happen because both fighters moved up to 115 pounds unexpectedly, Aldeguer says.

An email to Zanfer Promotions about the Estrada fight was not returned by the time of this story’s publication.

Nietes also could have fought a high-profile mandatory fight against WBO flyweight titleholder Zou Shiming – he was the number one contender before the IBF vacant title shot became available – but ALA opted to take the bird in the hand instead of waiting for the two in the bush.

“It’s been an uphill climb for him. Even now people don’t give him the respect, the recognition and it’s too bad. We worked so hard and tried to get the big fights,” Aldeguer says.

Aldeguer says he hopes those fights can still be made at a catchweight. Nietes says he’s willing to campaign at 115 if that means bigger opportunities.

“Yes if ever I do get my third division title, perhaps I would eye for another title and move up to 115,” says Nietes.

“As of now, I can’t say how long I’ll stay at 112. But we’ll see, once I run out of challenges, I’ll move up.”

There are other good fights to be made at 112 still. A victory over Shiming, the Chinese Olympic hero who Nietes says he got the better of in sparring, and more so WBA flyweight titleholder Kazuto Ioka, the Japanese virtuoso who has already won titles in 3 divisions, would earn him acclaim with the rest of the world, which still views him as an enigma.

“I’m also challenging him to fight me next time,” Nietes says of Ioka, who is rated number one by The Ring magazine at 112 pounds.

A few weeks short of his 35th birthday, time is running out on Nietes to make the fights that would make him a star. For the understated Nietes, he can only worry about that which he can affect for now.

“If I ever I do win my third division, I’m happy for that. I would be able to give more inspiration to younger boxers,” says Nietes. – Rappler.com

Ryan Songalia is the sports editor of Rappler, a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and a contributor to The Ring magazine. He can be reached at ryan.songalia@rappler.com. Follow him on Twitter @RyanSongalia.