Donnie Nietes will enhance his already significant boxing legacy if he reclaims the WBO junior bantamweight title in Japan. The Filipino hero is a former four-weight world champion and takes on Kazuto Ioka in Tokyo, on July 13th, looking to win back the belt he vacated almost four years ago. Nietes has reigned as a world champion at minimumweight, light flyweight, flyweight, and super flyweight in a near twenty-year professional career. Here’s how Nietes became a world title holder in four different divisions:
September 30, 2007 vs. Somporn Seeta a/k/a Pornsawan Porpramook (vacant WBO world minimumweight title): Nietes had been a professional fighter for over four years, and recovered from a loss and two draws, to finally land his first world title shot. It came against the unbeaten Thai boxer Seeta, in Cebu City, Philippines, and Nietes prevailed with a unanimous points win after twelve rounds. Nietes floored his opponent in the fourth round with a right hand, but Seeta recovered and the fight would go the distance. After the decision win, Nietes would defend the WBO belt four times.
October 10, 2011 vs. Ramon Garcia Hirales (WBO world junior flyweight title): After a stretch as interim title holder, Garcia Hirales had won the world title with a fourth-round KO win in the April of 2011. Nietes proved too skilful for the Mexican southpaw and ripped the belt from him. Nietes became a two-weight world champion with another unanimous decision, taking the fight with scores of 118-110, 117-111 and 115-113, in front of a raucous Bacolod City crowd, in his homeland. The Filipino hero would reign as champion until 2016, a run which included nine defenses of his crown.
April 29, 2017 vs Komgrich Nantapech (vacant IBF world flyweight title): After making his move up to flyweight with a win over Edgar Sosa in America, Nietes returned home, to Cebu City to challenge for the vacant IBF crown at 112 pounds. John Riel Casimero had recently vacated. Nietes' world title at a third weight was secured with a unanimous decision points win over Thailand’s tough Nantapech. The victory saw Nietes join Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire as Filipino fighters to have won world belts at three different weights, and he said: “I think this is the best accomplishment in my life because my name is written in Philippine boxing history next to Pacquiao and Donaire.” Nietes, 34 at the time, would defend the title with a seventh round KO of Juan Carlos Reveco in California.
December 31, 2018, vs Kazuto Ioka (vacant WBO world junior bantamweight title): In 2017, Naoya Inoue vacated the WBO 115-pound title. The following year Nietes fought for the vacant title but drew with Aston Palicte. Nietes’ legacy in boxing was already secure with this third world title but his New Year’s Eve triumph over Ioka, by split decision, took his reputation to new heights. In a battle between former three-weight world champions, Nietes edged a split decision win, 116-112 and 118-110 in his favour, to take a fourth world title.
Nietes has gone just 1-0-1 since then, but the pair meet for a second time on July 13, with Ioka heading in as the champion.
