MANILA – Negrense Donnie Nietes vowed not to be complacent when he faces Norbelto Jimenez of the Dominican Republic in the WBA super flyweight division eliminator on Saturday night (Sunday in the Philippines) at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, UAE.
According to the Murcia, Negros Occidental native, Jimenez is a dangerous opponent and has the same determination as him to fight for a world championship soon.
“I’m excited but there’s no room for complacency with this opponent because he’s a world title challenger,” said Nietes. “I will do my very best to give fans an impressive fight.”
The 39-year-old Nietes, the former longest reigning Filipino world boxing champion, added that he did study the tendencies of his opponent.
“Jimenez is susceptible for a counter. He has a tendency to leave himself open when throwing a punch,” Nietes said. “If there’s a chance to knock him out, that would be great.”
A victory by Nietes will open him up to another shot at world championship against WBA super flyweight super champion Juan Francisco Estrada and regular champion Joshua Franco.
“(Nietes) shouldn’t be complacent with this kind of opponent because (Jimenez) can fight toe-to-toe. He is a tough opponent for Donnie because he fought a champion like Yafai and lasted 12 rounds,” said Nietes’ trainer Edmund Villamor.
Nietes, a former standout of the ALA Boxing Gym, will be entering the ring with a 43-1-5 win-loss-draw ring record, including 23 victories by way of stoppages, while Jimenez has 30-9-5 slate, with 16 KO wins.
This boxing event in Dubai is headlined by Filipino John Riel Casimero, who will be defending his WBO world bantamweight champion Paul Butler (33-2, 15 KO’s) of Cheshire, England.
Filipino Jayson Mama (16-0, 8 KO’s) of General Santos City, for his part, is hoping for a world championship against British defending IBF world flyweight champion Sunny Edwards (16-0, 4 KO’s) of London./PN
