Nietes, Sabillo keep Pinoy pride intact

MANILA, Philippines - The crowd held its breath for Merlito Sabillo then screamed with joy for Donnie Nietes at the Araneta Coliseum the other night.

Sabillo escaped with a draw against a tough Nicaraguan named Carlos Buitrago and left the venue with his WBO minimumweight title in his hands.

He could have lost the fight.

Nietes was a lot more impressive. He was fast and furious in scoring a third-round technical knockout of Mexican challenger Sammy Gutierrez.

Two days before the fight, Nietes described Gutierrez, a former world champion, a “tune-up” for a rematch with Moises Fuentes.

Nietes was right. The fight didn’t last long. In the first round, Gutierrez went down twice. In the second, he just managed to hang on. But in the third he went down for good.

Currently the longest-reigning Filipino world champion, Nietes stepped out of the ring with his WBO light-flyweight belt being hoisted by his trainer.

It was a good night of boxing at the Big Dome. Presented by ALA Promotions, it was dubbed “Pinoy Pride 23: Filipinos Kontra Latinos.”

Pinoy fight fans which packed the lower sections of the historic venue held their breath as the ring announcer read the scorecards for the Sabillo fight.

They didn’t know what to expect after watching Sabillo get tagged a number of times by the cool and composed fighter from Nicaragua.

In the ninth round, Sabillo took a big right from Buitrago and as he bounced off the ropes was met by another punch. But he stayed on his feet.

Sabillo had his moments. He showed the heart of a lion trying to turn things around. He relied heavily on his left hand and landed some of his best shots, too.

Sabillo, now 29, grew up fighting in the streets of Bacolod. He took up boxing late and turned pro only five years ago, with no amateur background at all.

Sabillo, still undefeated in 24 fights, fought the way he fights – like a street-fighter.

One judge had it 115-113 for the Filipino, another had it 115-113 for the Nicaraguan and the third, a Japanese, had it 114-114.

The crowd embraced the draw.

Buitrago spoke to The STAR after the fight. He said he was disappointed with the draw because he felt he deserved the victory.

“Now I know that to beat him in his country I had to knock him out. This draw is like a loss to me. I wanted to bring the title to Nicaragua,” he said through an interpreter.

Antonio “Tony” Aldeguer, the man behind ALA Promotions, said Sabillo deserved the draw.

“He fought with all his heart. He doesn’t have the skills of Milan Melindo or Donnie Nietes but he has the heart. It’s all heart,” Aldeguer told The STAR.

Sabillo had everything to lose against Buitrago, also undefeated after 29 fights.

“His will to win gave him the draw,” said the respected Cebuano promoter, looking forward to a rematch with Buitrago.

Dennis Canete, ALA vice president, said they will discuss things with the WBO if Sabillo can do another before going into a rematch with Buitrago

Six months ago, Sabillo’s mother passed away. And after last night’s draw, he said he doesn’t want to go back to where he came from.

“Ayoko na bumalik sa dati,” said Sabillo.

Nietes offered his victory to the victims of Typhoon Yolanda.

“Sa nangyari sa Tacloban, sana makabangon tayo (I hope we can rise again),” said the 31-year-old Nietes, a world champion for over six years now.

Nietes, 32-1-4 with 18 knockouts, said right from the start he knew he had Gutierrez under his spell.

“Alam kong kaya ko siya. Sobrang saya ko (I knew I had him. I’m so happy),” he said.

Milan Melindo crowned himself as the new WBO International flyweight champion with unanimous decision over Mexican Jose Alfredo Rodriguez while Jason Pagara kept his WBO International light-welterweight title with another convincing win against Vladimir Baez of the Dominican Republic.

Bantamweight AJ “Bazooka” Banal stayed on track by beating Puerto Rico’s Lucian Gonzalez on points while Jimrex Jaca was his old self in stopping Indonesia’s Wellem Reyk with a left straight to the mid-section in the 2:24 mark of the first round.

They kept the “Pinoy Pride” intact at the Big Dome.