MANILA – Aston Palicte will be banking on his height and speed when he faces fellow Negrense Donnie Nietes for the WBO world super flyweight belt on Sept. 9 at The Forum in Inglewood, California.
Speaking to the international media during his public workout, the Bago City, Negros Occidental native said he is confident on pulling off an upset against Nietes, a native of Murcia town.
“I am the stronger, faster fighter in this bout and I need to take advantage of my height and reach in defeating Donnie,” said Palicte, the current NABF super flyweight titlist.
This will be the second All-Filipino world championship clash in 93 years, aside from Jerwin Ancajas’ successful IBF junior bantamweight title defense against Jonas Sultan on May 26.
“I believe I can knock Nietes out and make a name for myself with this win. If not, I will get a decision,” he added. “This is a fantastic fight for all Filipino boxing fans and we will continue the great tradition of Filipino boxing into the ring.”
Palicte will parade an impressive 24-2-0 win-loss-draw card, with 20 stoppage victories. The 27-year-old has been on a roll, winning his last four matches via stoppages.
Nietes, on the other hand, has a 41-1-4 win-loss-draw card, including 23 knockout wins. The 36-year-old has not tasted defeat since his split-decision loss to Indonesian Angky Angkotta in 2004.
Meanwhile, two Filipino-foreign fighters were added to the undercard. Filipina-Australian Louisa Hawton will take on Brenda Flores while Filipino-American Bruno Escalante will tangle with Alexandru Marin./PN
