Nietes keeps WBO crown
Decks foe 4 times in Mexico defense
By Salven Lagumbay
Philippine Daily Inquirer
WBO minimumweight king Donnie Nietes made sure the judges would not be a factor this time, knocking down Mexican Erik Ramirez four times en route to a convincing unanimous decision victory Sunday in Oaxaca, Mexico.
The three judges scored the bout 115-109, 116-108 and 113-111 all in favor of the Filipino, who was making the second defense of his world title.
Ramirez went down off Nietes’ barrages in the first, fifth, ninth and 12th round, and was clearly dominated by the highly skilled fighter from Cebu’s ALA stable.
A big Nietes right knocked down Ramirez in the first round. Although fighting on wobbly legs, the Mexican weathered the storm and finished the round.
Another right by the dominant Filipino downed the challenger in the fifth although the Mexican showed durability to fight on.
Nietes’ heavy right again found its mark in the ninth round, sending Ramirez to the deck for the third time.
Ramirez’s own big right seemed to hurt Nietes in the final round but when he went in for the kill, the Filipino world champion unleashed another punch that sent the Mexican down for the fourth time.
Ramirez was in deep trouble following the knockdown and barely finished the round.
“I came here to fight. I clearly lost … Nietes is a great champion, no doubt, and I hope to have another opportunity in the future,” a dejected Ramirez told the media after the fight.
The win underscored Nietes’ ascension as the world’s finest minimumweight fighter.
The Filipino outshone WBA champion Roman Gonzalez, who settled for a hard-fought majority decision on the same card over Mexican Francisco Rosas.
With the win, the Bacolod City-raised, Cebu-based Nietes improved to 24-1-3, 14 by knockout.
Nietes and his team will fly this morning to Los Angeles where they will catch a flight to Manila.