By Nick Giongco
Pound-for-pound entry Donnie Nietes finally came face-to-face with a major roadblock to his quest for a fourth world title in as many weight categories yesterday in Los Angeles.
The 5-foot-2 Nietes didn’t freeze at the sheer sight of a young and hungry lion in the 5-foot-7 Aston Palicte, whose head looked like a big-sized pumpkin next to his pint-sized rival.
Nietes, 36, and Palicte, 27, were formally presented to the media yesterday in Los Angeles, exactly a month before they slug it out for the vacant World Boxing Organization super-flyweight crown at the Forum in Inglewood.
As Nietes stood in front of Palicte, it was obvious that the Cebu-based three-division champion was about to face a formidable foe who is not only physically superior but likewise oozing with vigor and vitality.
Nietes, who fights out of the ALA Boxing Club of Cebu, will be testing the super-fly (115 lbs) ranks for the first time after winning titles at minimumweight (105 lbs), light-fly (108 lbs) and fly (112 lbs).
A victory over Palicte will make Nietes only the second Filipino fighter to capture world crowns in four divisions after Nonito Donaire.
Nietes holds a 41-1-4 win-loss-draw record with 23 KOs while Palicte, the pride and joy of SanMan Promotions, sports a 24-2 with 20 KOs.
The all-Negros clash between Nietes of Murcia and Palicte of Bago City marks the third time that two Filipinos are facing off for a world championship.
In 1925, Pancho Villa beat Clever Sencio in Manila for the world fly crown while Jerwin Ancajas defeated Jonas Sultan for the world super-fly diadem only last May in Fresno, California.
