Nietes and co. shift training to higher gear at Wild Card

CEBU, Philippines -  Two-division world champion Donnie 'Ahas' Nietes, WBO International featherweight titleholder Mark ' Magnifico' Magsayo and WBO Asa-Pacific bantamweight champion "King" Arthur Villanueva have landed back in America for their second wave of Spartan-like training regimen preparatory for their upcoming fights.

The ALA Boxing Gym stars will be working out at the famous Wild Card Gym of Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach in Los Angeles to make sure that they will be fully armed when they battle tough Mexican foes in the third Pinoy Pride event of ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN Sports in the US next month.

Billed a 'Pinoy Pride 39:Philippines vs Mexico', the surefire blockbuster show will take place  at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.

Nietes, the longest reigning Filipino world boxing champion, revs up for his highly anticipated flyweight debut against ex-world titlist Edgar Sosa.

In climbing up a higher weight, the 34-year-old Nietes was very vocal on his desire to go after the big names in the 122-pound division, with unified WBO/WBA champ Juan Francisco Estrada on top of his list.

On the other hand, Magsayo will take on a soon to be named foe, while Villanueva will defend his regional belt against Juan Jimenez in an expected grudge rematch.

During their previous encounter last May 23 in Bacolod City,  Villanueva recovered from a second round knockdown on the way to score a freak fourth round stoppage of  Jimenez.

However, slow-mo replays showed that it was an accidental clash of heads and not a legitimate punch by Villanueva that knocked Jimenez out.

That prompted the Mexican camp to protest the outcome, which did not fall on deaf ears with ALA granting them an immediate rematch. (FREEMAN)