Saturday, twenty-second of July, Dubai. Co-headlining with James "Jazza" Dickens vs. Héctor Andrés "La Maquinita" Sosa on a FITE TV PPV. On the line will be the vacant IBO bantamweight title. Nietes and Waseem are ranked #10 and #29 respectively in the IBO's latest computerized rankings this month. Hilariously, the last holder of this belt (Michell "El Arsenal" Bánquez of Venezuela, currently on a three loss slump although he never lost his championship in the ring), has fallen off the IBO top one hundred altogether. Decent chance this is the last world level opportunity for both the Pakistani and Filipino, aged 35 and 41, each coming in off a loss. Waseem has 3" of height and 1½″ in reach over Nietes - and yet has about one-quarter as much experience measured in pro rounds boxed.
