Donnie Nietes (33-1-4, 19 KO) will put his WBO light flyweight title on the line against Carlos Velarde (26-3-1, 14 KO) on Saturday at Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino in the Philippines. The proud Filipino champion will be defending his title for the fifth and perhaps final time.
He has indicated that he has plans to move up to flyweight after the bout, per ESPN.com's Dan Rafael. If he wins, he will vacate the title. If he loses, the 24-year-old Velarde will have the biggest win of his career and the momentum to begin his own reign.
This bout will be part of a mildly entertaining day of fights with heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko defending his plethora of titles on a separate card. Here's how you can catch Nietes' light flyweight farewell bout.
When: Saturday at 11 p.m. ET
Where: Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines
TV: beIN Sports Espanol
The Book on Nietes
Nietes has been dominant in his career. He's the reigning WBO light flyweight champion, and he hasn't lost a fight in 10 years. He drew with Moises Fuentes in March 2013 but left no doubt in the rematch in May. Nietes stopped Fuentes in the ninth round to set up this bout and a move up to flyweight.
At 32 years old, Fuentes is having increasing issues making the light flyweight limit of 108 pounds, and he's looking to become a world champion in his third weight class. No matter what happens against Velarde on Saturday night, Nietes is likely going to begin pursuit of that goal in his next fight.
Big-time fighters and pound-for-pound contenders like Roman Gonzalez and Juan Estrada await him at 112 pounds. With them comes the potential for bigger paydays, which is not a given at the smaller weight classes.
It's easy to see he has his eyes on the biggest prizes.
Will he be leaving the light flyweight division as a champion who is vacating his title, or will Velarde send him out a loser?
The Book on Velarde
Hailing from Culiacan, Mexico, the town that produced Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., Velarde aims to continue the great tradition of the city. Up to now, he's done pretty well, though he failed in his previous attempt to win a world title.
Back in May 2013, Velarde traveled to Osaka, Japan, to challenge former WBA minimumweight champion Ryo Miyazaki for his title. Velarde was viciously stopped in the fifth by a dastardly left hook. The bout was competitive up to that point, but Velarde was rendered unconscious by a expertly placed counterpunch. The KO happens around the 14:55 mark of the video below.
The cards were even through four rounds, per BoxRec. Since then, Velarde has won three straight.
Most recently, he captured a split decision over Jose Argumedo in May to set up his title shot. Now his second attempt at a world title sees him on the road in a champion's backyard again. Could it be that Velarde's first shot at a world title came before he was ready? We'll find out if he has the goods to win a tough battle behind enemy lines on Saturday.
Prediction
Stylistically, Velarde's come-forward style plays into Nietes' hands. The champion likes to slip and counter with power shots in tight exchanges. He looks to set opponents up with feints and head movement so that they will commit to a punch that puts them in range for a powerful counter.
By employing a rangy jab, Nietes is also able to keep opponents off balance. When he's able to control tempo, he's awfully tough to beat.
Velarde is charged with making the champion uncomfortable. The only problem is, he's a plodder with slow feet. He's a fundamentally sound puncher who won't get wild, but the question is: Can he wear Nietes down with pressure and body punches?
The champion is likely to rehydrate up a good number of pounds as he prepares to transition to flyweight. Nietes has proven he possesses the power to put an opponent's lights out as well.
He stopped Sammy Gutierrez with one shot in Nov. 2013.
Velarde does have a good chin despite the way he was folded up by Miyazaki. He got caught with a perfect left hook and went to sleep. Nietes won't get the highlight-reel KO, but he will earn a mid- to late-round TKO victory before he vacates the title.
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Some rematches simply have to happen. The rivalry between WBO light flyweight champion Donnie "Ahas" Nietes (32-1-4, 18 KO) and Moises "Moi" Fuentes (19-1-1, 10 KO) is one that needed a sequel. It will happen on Saturday in the Philippines at SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The two men fought to a disputed majority draw in March 2013, and Nietes escaped with his WBO title.
One judge scored the fight 115-113 for Nietes, the other two judges called it even.
It doesn't get much closer than that.
The two light flyweights are so evenly matched, the rematch figures to be another brawl. The bout is the headliner for the Pinoy Pride XXV: The Rematch For Glory celebration.
Here's how you can catch the action.
When: Saturday, May 10, at 6 a.m. ET
Where: SM Mall of Asia Arena in the Philippines
TV: Box Azteca
The Book on Nietes
The proud Filipino champion might have enjoyed the benefits of having the first fight take place in his homeland. While the same factors should be present for the rematch, his opponent has earned some respect with his efforts in the first meeting.
Nietes fought through cuts over both eyes last time to retain his championship, but he may need to be a little smarter during exchanges in the rematch.
Since the first fight, Nietes has fought once. He scored a win via third-round TKO over Sammy Gutierrez in November 2013.
Even though he's the champion, he still has something to prove against his Mexican rival.
The Book on Fuentes
Fuentes has been busy since the first with Nietes. He's fought three times over the last year. He's won all three bouts, two of them by stoppage.
He's only gotten better since the first meeting.
Fuentes is saying all the right things leading into his rematch with Nietes. His aggressive nature and eagerness to scrap are making the second fight all the more intriguing.
Speaking to Abac Cordero of The Philippine Star (via ABS-CBN News), Fuentes said: "I will make every punch hurt."
Per Cordero's article, Fuentes believes the champion was protected in the first fight. His objective this time around seems to be to take the decision out of the judges' hands.
Can the challenger pull off the win behind enemy lines?
Prediction
The first fight was a war, and there's no reason to think this one will be any different.
Fuentes will be a man of his word and attempt to push the pace to stop Nietes. The challenger is right not to feel comfortable depending on the judges. His style isn't that of a pure boxer. And conventional wisdom doesn't suggest he'll find success looking to simply win rounds.
That said, Nietes is still a tough nut to crack. His chin is solid. He's never been stopped in his career. Chances are, Fuentes isn't going to be the first to turn the trick.
Expect the decision to again be a disputed one, but smart money says Nietes retains his title by another razor-thin margin, except this time he'll get the nod by split decision.
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Donnie Nietes (31-1, 17 KOs) will defend his WBO light flyweight title against Moises Fuentes (16-1, 8 KOs) in a March 2 bout that will take place in the Philippines.
Fuentes comes into this match having won his last four fights and will be moving up in weight to challenge the champion. Fuentes currently holds the WBO minimumweight crown, which is a title he has successfully defended twice.
Nietes is the veteran of the two and has been a dominant presence in the sport for the better part of the last decade. Ahas (Nietes' nickname) has also seen glory as a member of the minimumweight division after holding the title himself, but he has now moved up to light flyweight and been successful thus far.
Now that you have some background on each of these fighters, let's take a look at what a victory would mean for their respective careers.
What It Means For Nietes
The most obvious plus for Nietes winning this fight would be that he gets to keep his belt after yet another successful title defense.
At 30 years old, there is no disputing that Nietes is the best fighter in his division in the sport, but a loss to Fuentes would certainly change that notion. Losses have become so rare for Nietes, people may also begin to question if Ahas is starting to lose his edge.
Fuentes is the very best competition Nietes could be facing at the moment, so a decisive win will only help to elevate Ahas' place in boxing. He is already elite, but Ahas could move to a legendary status as he continues to pummel some of the best in the world.
In his last two fights, Nietes hasn't exactly wowed anyone with his performances.
His first title defense against Felipe Salguero saw Nietes win a 12-round bout that was rather boring to say the least. After that, Ahas scored a fifth-round knockout against Danai Meendaeng, which really did nothing to get people talking.
It's been awhile since Nietes has given people a reason to talk, but a win over Fuentes would do just that.
What It Means For Fuentes
A win for Fuentes will put him on the same path that Nietes is on as the 27-year-old would have held both the minimum and light flyweight crowns.
After a victory over Ivan Calderon, which effectively ended the veteran's career, Fuentes has started developing the mantra of "legend killer." Nietes is no doubt as close to legend status as you can get, so Fuentes beating him with an impressive victory would no doubt help cement that status.
Furthermore, Fuentes is moving up a weight class for this fight. Minimumweight isn't exactly a well-known class in boxing, so a victory and title belt from the light flyweight class would be the first step to making Fuentes a more well-known fighter.
This bout gives Fuentes a chance to be the next great thing in the light flyweight division, and he has a golden opportunity to become the face of this division if he can knock off the champ.
Filipino boxer John Casimero was attacked by a hostile crowd in Argentina after his spectacular win over Argentina’s Luis Alberto Lazarte at the Estadio Club Once Unidos in Mar del Plata, Argentina over the weekend.
Casimero, who was born in Ormoc City and presently resides in Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines is the former interim WBO Light Flyweight Champion. With the spectacular win, Casimero, who is only 21 years old, bagged the vacant IBF light flyweight title via a 10th-round stoppage of the 40-year-old Lazarte.
Casimero's win however was marred by a riot, as fans of Lasarte started throwing chairs and debris right after the referee declared Casimero the winner.
Casimero's handlers, led by Promoter Sammy Gello-ani, were hurt and badly shaken as hostile fans entered the ring and attacked members of Casimero's team.
“It was an even fight at first but Casimero began to dominate Lazarte starting in the middle rounds. He knocked down Lazarte twice in round nine and knocked the Argentinian again in the tenth prompting the referee to stop the fight,” Gello-ani said
As the angry fans entered the ring, Gello-ani said he lost sight of Casimero, but he found out later that his fighter was taken by referee Eddie Claudio to a safe place. Gello-ani also said that “referee Claudio took the fighter down the ring where one of our friends Osvaldo Prado hid him under the ring until the riot was over. Prado told me not to worry because Casimero was safe under the ring.”
Police later escorted Casimero to his dressing room, while referee Claudio was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Sean Gibbon of Top Rank was reportedly hurt, along with Casimero's trainer Pingping Trepora and other members of the team.
After the riot, it was reported that Lazarte went to Casimero's dressing room to apologize for the unfortunate event. Likewise, Lazarte's promoter visited Team Casimero at their hotel and expressed his apology
With the win, Casimero improved his professional record to 16-2 with 10 knockouts, while Lazarte's record fell to 49-11-2 with 18 knockouts.
WBO Light Flyweight Champion Giovani Segura (26-1, 22 KO) will be defending his title against Ivan Calderon (34-1-1, 6 KO) in the main event tonight. It is a rematch of their 2010 "Fight of the Year" candidate that Segura won via TKO. The fight takes place at the Auditorio del Estado in Baja California, Mexico.
Main Event: Giovani Segura (26-1) def. Ivan Calderon (34-1-1) by TKO in round three.
Round 1- Segura comes out and attacks the body. Calderon moving away from Segura's relentless attack and boxing effectively. Segura looking to impose his size including a 4'' height advantage. Segura throws wide and misses but is landing some good body shots. Calderon's jab is on point. Close round. 10-9 Calderon
Round 2- Segura is nonstop with his attack. He is landing a lot of body shots and seems to be his main weapon for this fight. Calderon's jab is also landing and keeping Segura at a distance. Right hook lands for Calderon. Segura gets a warning for throwing a low blow. Not warranted in my opinion because he is throwing body shots nonstop. Good punches thrown by Segura to end a close round. 10-9 Segura
Round 3- Bell rings and Segura is immediately on Calderon. Both fighters exchange hooks. Segura lands a dozen body shots and Calderon is hurt. Calderon goes down after Segura hits him with a dozen more body shots. Calderon doesn't get up and Segura gets the second knockout win over the 36-year-old. Great win for Segura.
Undercard bout: Jorge Lacierva (38-7-6) def. Fernando Beltran Jr. (35-4-1) by unanimous decision.
The action was relatively slow to start the first of two featherweight bouts. It was close at first, but Lacierva picked up the pace in the middle of the fight and landed his best combination in the sixth round.
Both fighters exchanged power shots in the seventh round, but it was all Lacierva. The eight and ninth were similar to the early stages of the fight with Lacierva controlling the action with body punches and inside fighting. Beltran spent the ninth complaining about headbutts and about getting punched behind the head.
Lacierva landed the best punch of the fight in the tenth round. With the extensive clinching and inside fighting, the fight has fallen into a similar pattern through twelve rounds.
The result is an unanimous-decision win for Lacierva, who is ranked seventh by the IBF. Scores are 118-109, 119-109 and 119-109.
Preliminary Results:
Alonso Lopez def. Jorge Guerrero by UD after six rounds. His record improves to 9-0.
The Giovanni Segura-Ivan Calderon fight this Saturday should be getting more press. It is that plain and simple.
Everyone wants Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr., but this is the poor mans alternative. You won’t find a better pure boxer vs. pure slugger fight out there.
Segura doesn’t remind me of the Pacquiao of today, but he reminds me of the Pacquiao of yesteryear. He is a little man with a massive punch.
Segura sports a record of 24-1-1 and has won 20 of those fights by knockout. Since losing the only fight of his career to Cesar Canchila, he has reeled off four straight wins inside of the distance.
That includes a return match with Canchila which he won by fourth-round TKO. That fight netted him the WBA light flyweight title which he has defended three times.
If you have ever seen Segura fight you know he is a can’t miss fighter and this Saturday shouldn’t be any different. He will be in there winging power shots with the intent on knocking Calderon’s head off.
Calderon on the other hand is one of, if not the, purest boxers in the game today. He is the polar opposite of Segura in every way.
Calderon proves his boxing ability in every single fight he has because he moved up a weight class, although he was small in his original weight class, in 2007 despite having no punch at all.
He is older, 35 years of age to 28, smaller, 5’0” to 5’4”, faster, slicker, and has no power what so ever. He has six knockouts in his 34 wins.
His last knockout came way back in 2006. Despite that, three of his last four fights have failed to go the distance.
How does that happen you ask. Well he had three straight technical decisions (2-0-1) before beating Jesus Iribe over 12 rounds last time out.
Calderon is one of the very few fighters who knows every in and out of his craft. He has great defense, good offense, and counters punches well.
His chin is good, but he can be hurt. When he is hurt, he does a very good job of staying on his feet by moving around.
He was on the canvas last fight after a flash knockdown, but never lost composure and won the fight easily.
This fight is also like Pacquiao-Mayweather because it will determine who the No. 1 light flyweight in the world is. Calderon is No. 1 and Segura is No. 2, no other way to slice it.
The fight will end up going one of two ways. Segura will impose his will on the naturally smaller man and catch him with a knockout blow or Calderon will box his ears off and win easily.
Both seem like a very real possibility at this point. Calderon has looked vulnerable his last few times out and Segura has the big punching style to expose these new weaknesses.
On the flip side, Segura can swing wildly and he really doesn’t have much technical ability. Calderon has usually feasted on these guys.
This may not be Pacquiao-Mayweather, but if you want something that is very close to it tune into Segura-Calderon this Saturday.
