Nietes hopes to join Peñalosa, Espinosa with 2nd world title

In 1941, Eleuterio Zapanta, or better known as "Little Dado", became the first Filipino boxer to win world titles in multiple weight divisions when he won the flyweight championship a year after clinching the bantamweight title. Since then, a number of fighters from the archipelago nation of 7,107 islands have duplicated the feat, including Dodie Boy Peñalosa Sr., Gerry Peñalosa, Luisito Espinosa and more recently Brian Viloria, Nonito Donaire Jr. and eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao. On October 8, former World Boxing Organization (WBO) minimumweight champ Donnie Nietes gets the chance to join that illustrious group when he faces WBO light flyweight champion Ramon Garcia Hirales at the University of St. La Salle Gymnasium in Nietes' hometown of Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, Philippines. For the 29-year-old Nietes (28-1-3, 16 knockouts), joining that elite group would be invaluable. "It would mean the world to me just to be mentioned in the same breath as Luisito Espinosa and Gerry Penalosa, for I grew up watching these great champions," said Nietes in Filipino. "I really am humbled to be compared to them." Nietes is now the sole world champion training at the ALA Boxing Gym in Cebu, where he once swept floors as a janitor. The 28-year-old Garcia will also be Nietes' first world class opponent at 108 pounds. Despite the La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico-native Garcia's perceived edge in size compared to Nietes' previous opponents, the former WBO minimumweight titlist does not view this as his toughest challenge. "I should say my three title defenses in Mexico for the reason that you go through a lot not just inside the ring but outside of it too." Nietes resumed training camp last week after taking some time off to avoid overtraining. ALA Boxing's conditioning coach Pio Solon, who is also working with the National Amateur team, says they are currently working on improving his strength for the rise in weight. "He'll be faster, stronger, more powerful once we're done with him," Solon said. Solon said Nietes is a man of few words who prefers to do his talking inside the ring. "He's hoping for a real fight, I can tell you that much." Bantamweight contender AJ Banal (25-1-1, 19 KOs) of Cebu City will face an opponent to be named in the co-featured bout of Pinoy Power 7. According to one ALA source, Victor Proa is the frontrunner to land the fight. Proa from Monterrey is 27-1-2 with 20 KOs but has fought only three times outside of Mexico. He suffered a first-round KO against Raul Martinez on November 14, 2008 but bounced back with a sixth-round TKO victory opposite Alfredo Banaga in 2010. Oba is OPBF bantamweight champ Lunas' possible challenger Newly-crowned Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) bantamweight champion Rolly Lunas will be making his first title defense on December 10 in Kobe, Japan with Kohei Oba as his possible opponent. The Tabaco City, Albay-native Lunas (29-8-1 17 KOs) regained the regional title last month with a decision win over Zerofit Jerope Zuiyama, who was previously 23-1-3. The Kanazawa, Japan-based Lunas had originally won that title in 2007 when he defeated former world champ and fellow Japan-based Filipino Malcolm Tuñacao in 2007. The 26-year-old Oba is the 14th-ranked super bantamweight fighter by the WBC and holds a 29-1-1 (12 KOs) record. His only loss was a decision to Tuñacao. Lunas said it is becoming harder to stay at 118 pounds and will likely jump to 122 next year. He added that he plans to visit his mother in Albay province after his December 10 fight. - JVP, GMA News Ryan Songalia is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and contributes to GMA News and the Filipino Reporter newspaper in New York City. He can be reached at ryan@ryansongalia.com. An archive of his work can be found at www.ryansongalia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @RyanSongalia.