If any active champion is very lucky right now it's Donnie Nietes (31-1-4, 17) who got one of the luckiest decisions in boxing earlier this year when he defended his WBO Light Flyweight title with a draw over Moises Funetes. Nietes, who out punched, out fought, out worked and generally dominated by Fuentes deserved to lose his title back then yet some how got bailed out with the draw.
Nietes will be defending his title for the first time since that controversial contest with Fuentes as he battles another Mexican, Sammy Gutierrez (33-9-2, 23) a man who himself once claimed a portion of the world crown at Minimumweight.
At his best Gutierrez was a challenge for near enough anyone at 105 or even 108 and going through his opponents reads as a whose who. Unfortunately however Gutierrez wasn't a stand out fighter. He was a very credible fighter though someone who just seemed to come up short against the real world class fighters. For example he was stopped by Nkosinathi Joyi and out pointed by Omar Nino Romero, Raul Garcia and Juan Palacios.
The down fall for Gutierrez has been quick as well. Just 3 years ago he was the WBA interim champion but now he's struggling to string wins together and has gone 3-3 in his last 6 and 5-4 in his last 9. Yes, this is a fighter who is paying for his wars in the ring despite only being 27.
Whilst I'd also say that Nietes is regressing as a fighter in recent years he's not totally dropping off a cliff like Gutierrez. He's struggling for sure but there is enough left in the tank for him to keep his title despite some poor performances.
At his very best Nietes was a fringe pound-for-pound fighter who could do it all. Now however he's someone who struggles. He struggled with Fuentes, he struggled with Felipe Salguero and he struggled with Ramon Hirales Garcia. Maybe it's because Nietes isn't a natural Light Flyweight but personally I think it's the fact he's forgetting some of the things that made him so good at Minimumweight.
In regards to this bout, I think Nietes has enough left to stop the shadow of Gutierrez but don't let a good performance here belie the fact that Nietes isn't half the fighter he once was. This is a man who is very fortunate to call himself a world champion and likely won't be able to for too much longer.
Prediction-Nietes TKO8
Showing posts with label WBO Light Flyweight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WBO Light Flyweight. Show all posts
Thursday, 28 November 2013
Friday, 1 March 2013
Donnie Nietes v Moises Funetes
Filipino Donnie Nietes (31-1-3, 17) has long been one of the most forgotten men in the sport of boxing. He's unbeaten in over 8 years, he's claimed WBO title at both Minimumweight and Flyweight and he's won his last 18 bouts, including 7 world title bouts and yet he's rarely, if ever mentioned online even when fans are talking about under-rated fighters. It's likely however that if Nietes successfully defends his WBO Light Flyweight title this coming Saturday against Mexican Moises Fuentes (16-1, 8) the boxing world may finally start to give him the attention he deserves.
Nietes, 30, has been a professional since 2003 and since then has only suffered a solitary (and highly debatable loss) to Angky Angkotta in Angkotta's native Indonesia. Not only did Angkotta struggle to gain a split decision in front of his own fans but he also failed to make the agreed weight for the fight, coming some 6 lbs over weight.
Since his loss to Angkotta, Nietes has been exceptional defeating the likes of Pornsawan Porpramook, Manuel Vargas, Jesus Silvestre, Mario Rodriguez and Ramon Garcia Hirales using his excellent skills and speed. Despite these notable victories Nietes has remained almost an enigma to many boxing fans who either don't know about, or don't care about the activity in the lower divisions where fighters like Nietes ply their trade.
Whilst he may be overlooked by many fans that really doesn't take away from the huge level of talent Nietes has. He's not a hugely exciting fighter, due to his defensive skill and lack of power, though he is a hugely talented fighter who knows his way around the ring and know how to get rounds in the bag, even if he doesn't tend to dominate fights in the way that perhaps he should. His work in the pocket is beautiful as he ducks and dodges whilst landing hurtful counters and his boxing is hugely under-rated by many. Saying that however the fact he rarely manages to put opponents away is a worry especially when you consider he now has over 230 professional rounds under his belt.
If Neites is to be seen as a masterful boxer then on the other hand we have the wild and somewhat reckless looking slugger from Mexico in Moises Fuentes. Fuentes, who defended his WBO Minimumweight title last time out by stopping Ivan Calderon (who retired from boxing following the loss) is like Neites in only a handful of ways, the most notable is that he's often over looked by boxing fans despite forging a successful career.
Another similarity that Nietes and Fuentes share is that they have only been beaten once, in fact rather oddly their losses both came by controversial split decision to fighters who came in over weight with Fuentes losing to fellow Mexican Juan Hernandez back in 2011. Since the loss to Hernandez however Fuentes has really come in to his own scoring notable wins over Raul Garcia, Julio Cesar Felix and most famously Ivan Calderon in what are by far his biggest wins.
Whilst Fuentes has made his name at Minimumweight he's always been a huge guy at the 105lb limit and standing at 5'7" he's actually taller than Lucas Matthysse. His size advantage has made him very dangerous at Minimumweight though should also easily allow him to make the move up to Light Flyweight for this bout with Nietes. In fact Fuentes should look like the noticeably bigger man in the ring despite being the fighter who's coming up a division.
If you look at Fuentes' record you don't see that of a puncher, though he is a hurtful fighter and if you allow him to catch you, you will know about it. He's hurtful to both the head and body and whilst he can be made to look very clumsy he can also leave fighters wincing in agony at his clubbing shots. If he manages to catch Nietes getting too cute he could genuinely shake up the Filipino, though I think the champion knows how to take care of himself in such a way that he should be able to take a clear decision over Fuentes.
Prediction-Nietes decision.
Nietes, 30, has been a professional since 2003 and since then has only suffered a solitary (and highly debatable loss) to Angky Angkotta in Angkotta's native Indonesia. Not only did Angkotta struggle to gain a split decision in front of his own fans but he also failed to make the agreed weight for the fight, coming some 6 lbs over weight.
Since his loss to Angkotta, Nietes has been exceptional defeating the likes of Pornsawan Porpramook, Manuel Vargas, Jesus Silvestre, Mario Rodriguez and Ramon Garcia Hirales using his excellent skills and speed. Despite these notable victories Nietes has remained almost an enigma to many boxing fans who either don't know about, or don't care about the activity in the lower divisions where fighters like Nietes ply their trade.
Whilst he may be overlooked by many fans that really doesn't take away from the huge level of talent Nietes has. He's not a hugely exciting fighter, due to his defensive skill and lack of power, though he is a hugely talented fighter who knows his way around the ring and know how to get rounds in the bag, even if he doesn't tend to dominate fights in the way that perhaps he should. His work in the pocket is beautiful as he ducks and dodges whilst landing hurtful counters and his boxing is hugely under-rated by many. Saying that however the fact he rarely manages to put opponents away is a worry especially when you consider he now has over 230 professional rounds under his belt.
If Neites is to be seen as a masterful boxer then on the other hand we have the wild and somewhat reckless looking slugger from Mexico in Moises Fuentes. Fuentes, who defended his WBO Minimumweight title last time out by stopping Ivan Calderon (who retired from boxing following the loss) is like Neites in only a handful of ways, the most notable is that he's often over looked by boxing fans despite forging a successful career.
Another similarity that Nietes and Fuentes share is that they have only been beaten once, in fact rather oddly their losses both came by controversial split decision to fighters who came in over weight with Fuentes losing to fellow Mexican Juan Hernandez back in 2011. Since the loss to Hernandez however Fuentes has really come in to his own scoring notable wins over Raul Garcia, Julio Cesar Felix and most famously Ivan Calderon in what are by far his biggest wins.
Whilst Fuentes has made his name at Minimumweight he's always been a huge guy at the 105lb limit and standing at 5'7" he's actually taller than Lucas Matthysse. His size advantage has made him very dangerous at Minimumweight though should also easily allow him to make the move up to Light Flyweight for this bout with Nietes. In fact Fuentes should look like the noticeably bigger man in the ring despite being the fighter who's coming up a division.
If you look at Fuentes' record you don't see that of a puncher, though he is a hurtful fighter and if you allow him to catch you, you will know about it. He's hurtful to both the head and body and whilst he can be made to look very clumsy he can also leave fighters wincing in agony at his clubbing shots. If he manages to catch Nietes getting too cute he could genuinely shake up the Filipino, though I think the champion knows how to take care of himself in such a way that he should be able to take a clear decision over Fuentes.
Prediction-Nietes decision.
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