Donnie Nietes out for 4th title

Former WBO minimumweight, WBO lightflyweight and IBF flyweight champion Donnie Nietes is shooting for a fourth title but in the way of achieving that goal is a fighter with exactly the same ambition. Nietes faces Japan’s Kazuto Ioka in a scheduled 12-round bout for the vacant WBO superflyweight crown at the Wynn Palace Cotai in Macau on Monday with the winner annexing his fourth championship.

Ioka is a former WBC/WBA minimumweight, WBA lightflyweight and WBA flyweight titleholder. Like Nietes, he’s considered a legend in his own time, dominating the lightest weight divisions in boxing. It’s a showdown to determine who’s the world’s best “little” fighter.

Nietes, 36, hasn’t lost in his last 34 outings, dating back to when he dropped a disputed split decision to Indonesia’s Angky Angkota in Jakarta in 2004. Angkota scaled six pounds more than Nietes at the weigh-in but the fight went on as scheduled. Nietes now has a 41-1-5 record, with 23 KOs. 

Ioka, 29, came out of a 1 1/2 year layoff to outpoint Puerto Rico’s McWilliams Arroyo at the Forum in Inglewood last September. Arroyo was decked in the third round and suffered a cut over his left eye from a punch in the 10th.  Last year, Ioka went on an extended leave after parting ways with his father and trainer Kazunori in a family squabble. Ioka’s father disapproved of his marriage with pop singer Nana Tanimura, leading to the layoff. Ioka had actually announced his retirement from the ring when his father objected to his marriage.

But Ioka is back in business. The fight against Arroyo was his first outside Japan and the unfamiliarity was no problem. Ioka’s record is 23-1, with 13 KOs. His only loss was a split decision to Thailand’s Amnat Ruenroeng in 2014. Amnat had also beaten Ioka when they were amateurs. Ioka has fought only one Filipino so far, Albert Alcoy who was stopped in nine rounds in Osaka in 2010. Nietes has never fought a Japanese.

Filipino referee and judge Silvestre Abainza said the crown is for Nietes to claim. “If it goes the distance, Nietes will win but both fighters can win by knockout,” he said. “Malaki ang chance na manalo si Nietes. May lakas ang Ioka pero mahihirapan siya kay Nietes dahil hindi niya matatamaan. Kung matapos ang laban by KO, alin man sa dalawa pwedeng manalo.”

Abainza said he has seen Ioka up close and was a judge in his fight against Argentina’s Juan Carlos Reveco in Osaka in April 2015. Ioka won by a majority decision as Carlos Sucre had it 116-113 and Abainza, 115-113 for the Japanese while Raul Caiz, Sr. saw it 114-all.  In a rematch that October, Ioka halted Reveco in the 11th round. 

While Ioka needed a second fight to beat Reveco decisively, Nietes had no difficulty disposing of the Argentinian at the Forum last February. Reveco was cut over the right eye by a punch in round six and was floored in round seven just before his corner threw in the towel.

“Ang style ni Ioka madaling mabasa ni Nietes kasi parang Pilipino-style na hindi siya suntok ng suntok,” said Abainza. “Kung sa may lakas, mayroon si Ioka. Ang tiyo ni Ioka, si Hiroki Ioka, lumaban kay Myung Woo Yuh at natalo by decision sa Osaka noong 1992 at ako ang nag-referee. Si Ioka at si Nietes, pwedeng manalo by KO. Kung sa decision, si Nietes ang llamado.” 

Hiroki Iota was a former WBC minimumweight and WBA lightflyweight champion who failed in three attempts to capture the flyweight crown and was also thwarted in a bid for the superflyweight title. Hiroki, now 49, compiled a 33-8-1 record, with 17 KOs, in a career that started in 1986 and ended in 1998. 

Nietes had a chance to win the vacant WBO superflyweight title at the Forum last September but was held to a split draw by countryman Aston Palicte. It will be Nietes’ second opportunity to bag the 115-pound title. The winner of Nietes-Ioka will stake the throne against the survivor of Palicte’s fight against Puerto Rico’s unbeaten Jose Martinez in San Diego on Jan. 31. 

This year, four Japanese fighters defeated Filipinos in world title fights. Last March, Ryosuke Iwasa outpointed Ernest Saulong in an IBF superbantamweight championship bout in Tokyo. In May, Hiroto Kyoguchi came off the canvas to decision Vince Paras and retained his IBF minimumweight diadem in Tokyo. In July, Sho Kimura stopped Froilan Saludar in the sixth round to retain his WBO flyweight crown in Qingdao, China. In October, Ken Shiro stopped Milan Melindo to retain his WBC lightflyweight title in Yokohama. The only Filipino winner over a Japanese in a world title fight this year was Vic Saludar who outpointed Ryuya Yamanaka to wrest the WBO minimumweight crown in Kobe last July.