MANILA – Negrense boxer Donnie Nietes’ IBO world bantamweight championship clash with Muhammad Waseem of Pakistan supposedly last weekend has been postponed to a later date.
According to a report by Boxing Scene website, the world title clash scheduled at Dubai, United Arab Emirates has been postponed after Waseem had an error on his visa application process.
The report added that Waseem was still in Scotland and was due to reach Dubai last Friday. But the non-issuance of the visa prevented the Pakistani fighter from making it to Dubai in time.
Disrupt Boxing, the boxing promotion of the world title clash, said that they are planning to announce in the coming days when the Nietes-Waseem world title clash will be scheduled.
The Murcia, Negros Occidental-native Nietes, however, was stunned with the development as he has prepared hard for this match, his first since suffering a unanimous decision loss to Japanese Kazuto Ioka last July.
“Subra two months na-advice na ang hampang wala gid nag-process (ng visa application niya)?” Nietes responded in one of the comments in a Facebook post regarding the fight postponement.
The Negrense boxer is hoping to capture his fifth division world championship after previously ruling in the super flyweight, flyweight, light flyweight and minimumweight divisions.
Apart from this, the 41-year-old Nietes is also aiming to become the oldest world champion in the bantamweight division and one of the few world title holders in the country.
Currently, Nietes has an impressive 43-2-6 win-loss-draw ring record, including 23 stoppage victories. The Negrense is also on a 32-game winning streak before losing to Ioka.
Waseem, on the other hand, has a 12-2-0 boxing record, with eight stoppage victories. He was inactive since his unanimous decision defeat to IBF bantamweight champion Sunny Edwards last March, 2022./PN
