MANILA – The World Boxing Organization (WBO) recently mandated Donnie Nietes to defend his WBO world super flyweight championship against fellow Negrense fighter Aston Palicte.
In a letter dated Feb. 4, the WBO asked the camp of the two Filipino fighters to come up with an agreement within 15 days for the bout, which will serve as a rematch for their first encounter last year that ended in a split draw.
Michael Aldeguer of ALA Boxing Promotions, who handles the career of Nietes, said a rematch with Palicte will be their last resort as he wants his boxer to have unification bout with other world super flyweight titleholders.
“We are open for Donnie to fight Aston but it is the least of our priorities,” Aldeguer said. “At this point, Donnie wants bigger fights. He wants to fight the big names out there. We’re looking for a unification fight.”
He added: “We have to look for other options. We don’t want two Filipinos fighting for a world title. We’ll see what we can do; we still have 15 days. We have to start working immediately.”
Roy Jones Jr. (RJJ) Boxing Promotions, who handles the career of the Bago City, Negros Occidental native Palicte, said that they will be pushing for a rematch with Nietes.
“I will start the process on making a deal with Nietes’ people,” RJJ Boxing CEO/Co-Founder Keith Veltre said. “We’re looking forward to seeing Aston become world champion.”
The first encounter between the Negrenses Nietes and Palicte, which was for the then vacant WBO super flyweight championship, held last September ended in a controversial split draw.
Nietes went on to capture the belt after a split decision win over Japanese fighter Kazuto Ioka on New Year’s Eve. Palicte earned the right for a rematch with Nietes after his second round knockout win over Puerto Rican Jose Martinez last week./PN
