Donnie Liboon "Ahas" Nietes - check out this cat's outstanding résumé!

All of his career blemishes came within his first two years on the job, and he is currently on a decade-long run of excellent form in which he is 14-0-1 (6) in world title bouts spanning 2 weight classes and has just broken into his 3rd with a flourish, shutting out the estimable Mexican veteran Edgar Sosa last night on beIN Sports Español. Nobody here watched it though, apparently.

His days in the sport are likely numbered, being a flyweight in his mid-thirties - and having only ascended the ranks seven pounds from his origin point at straw (as opposed to Manny Pacquiao's whopping and historically unmatched 49-lb, eleven-division northbound journey) he will likely remain obscured in the deep recesses of Pac-Man's shadow, but make no mistake: he's a great little fighter...and I hope a huge payday awaits him before retirement. I would argue that factoring in both résumé and h2h ability he is definitively top 5 among Filipino boxers of the last thirty years - arguably behind only Gerry Peñalosa, Nonito Donaire, and Pacquiao himself. I think enough room separates Ahas from his nearest runners-up (such as Casimero) that he belongs in the conversation as more of a nipper on the heels of that enshrined trio of Hall of Fame locks than as just a faceless member of the rest of the pack trailing in their wake.

For those unversed in the scene at the bottom end of the scales in boxing, Nietes only possesses a handful of big-name scalps (of the sort that usually punch one's ticket of admission into the annals of 'greatness') - but even just a handful is a more than impressive feat in these waters, considering how front-loaded and lacking in depth of talent most of the divisions south of bantamweight are, or the fact that having a belt holder with close to a .500 record isn't so uncommon as to be startling. Many of the names of secondary and even tertiary concern on his record are in fact stiffer on-the-way-up tests for an elite campaigning beneath 50 kilograms than you can find in most of the parts of the world that populate these lists. Heri Amol, for instance, probably has more legit-threat value as mere "journeyman deluxe" than many of the South Americans with prettier records in fringe contention.

A critic going purely off BoxRec might nitpick with observations like "he only got by with a split decision over Chango Vargas, who next time out was crushed in a hurry by Donaire..." - but the fact is that Nietes fought him at straw and Donaire all the way up at super fly - and Chango would later go on to give Chocolatito a very tough fight that stands as still among his toughest yet. Likewise, the draw with Fuentes in the first encounter is no source of shame (and thus wasn't enumerated above under "blemishes") - in fact a fantastic result by any measure and one Ahas later avenged by way of kayo victory in the rematch (even more fantastic). If one felt inclined to pooh-pooh his points landslide over Sosa on the grounds that Chocolatito destroyed him last May, you could well respond "yeah but that was ****ing Román González!!" - just as in Vargas' case "yeah but that was ****ing Nonito Donaire!!" is a fair objection. Edgar is getting up there but he's still a beast. Now with the addition of Sosa, plus Rayito Hirales and Chihuas Rodríguez all in the past 14 months, his stock is soaring after having already stylishly bested a host of strong B-grade contenders in his weight range for ages now.

 

Not like he's boring, either.

 

I was supremely disappointed to see no RBR last night. I ended up following along with the action via Twitter and thinking I probably should've just gone home instead of having stupid arguments with my girlfriend all night. (both of us were tired, cranky and overworked and probably should've just taken a night off from each other )

 

Yeah, he deserves a cash out with Inoue or Chocolatito.

Nowt to do with me! That was all the admin.

 

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