Flyweight champ Nietes will next face Argentina’s Reveco in mandatory defense

MANILA, Philippines – Donnie Nietes now knows who his next opponent will be after Juan Carlos Reveco won a competitive but clear unanimous decision over Komgrich Nantapech on Friday, September 8, in Argentina.

The win made Reveco (39-3, 19 KOs) the mandatory challenger for the IBF flyweight title, which Nietes earned in April when he defeated Nantapech in a close fight in Cebu City.

The 34-year-old Reveco, a former WBA flyweight titleholder, boxed and moved against the strong but crude Thai, winning by a shutout of 120-108 on one card, and the more representative tallies of 118-110 and 117-111 on the third.

Nietes’ promoter, Michael Aldeguer of ALA Promotions, says he was initially surprised to see Nantapech back in a title eliminator so quickly after losing to Nietes but now turns his attention to the matter in front of them.

“With Reveco winning, it’s going to be an exciting fight with Nietes,” says Aldeguer, who was informed after Nietes (40-1-4, 22 KOs) won the vacant title that his first defense would be a mandatory.

Asked when the fight could take place, Aldeguer says “we are looking at late October or November. We are open to fighting anywhere.”

“This is a great fight for Donnie,” added trainer Edito Villamor, who says Nietes has been in training since July and has been sparring since the second week of August.

Reveco’s notable wins include Ricardo Nunez and Felix Alvarado, and he showed he was more than a paper champion in his 2015 majority decision loss to Kazuto Ioka in Japan. He fought Ioka again later that year and lost by 11th round technical knockout in a close fight, and has won 3 straight by decision since then. – Rappler.com