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By:  Dale G. Rosal / Photos taken from ALA Boxing Facebook /

ALA BOXING Gym stalwarts Merlito “Tiger” Sabillo and Donnie “Ahas” Nietes on Wednesday led a group of ALA Boxing Gym boxers in helping relief efforts for the typhoon victims in the Visayas.

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The WBO minimumweight champion Sabillo and WBO light flyweight champion Nietes are set to face different opponents this Nov. 30 in the Pinoy Pride XXIII: Filipinos Kontra Latinos at the Araneta Coliseum. Both are supposed to be busy training for the fight but they took time helping volunteers at the ABS-CBN complex in Jagobiao, Mandaue City repack and load the goods to be transported to the typhoon affected areas in Northern Cebu and in Eastern Visayas.

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Sabillo even called on other aspiring boxers to help, saying what they were doing was actually a good training for the sport.

Sabillo will fight Nicaraguan Carlos Buitrago while Nietes will be defending his title against Sammy ‘Guty’ Gutierrez.

Joining the two champions were trainer Edito Villamor, WBO Asia Pacific and Intercontinental super bantamweight champion Genesis “Azukal” Servania and WBO International and Asia Pacific superflyweight champion “King” Arthur Villanueva. They were also joined by world title contender Milan “El Metodico” Melindo, who will also be fighting in the undercard of Pinoy Pride XXIII.

IDOL Boxing Series’ “Prince” Albert Pagara, Mark Bernaldez and Mark Gessel Magsayo also helped along with his brother Jason “El Nino” Pagara, Rey Bautista, Rocky Fuentes, Jimrex Jaca, Juren Labordo and Roli Gasca.

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According to Villamor, ALA Boxing Gym founder Antonio L. Aldeguer donated relief goods for the typhoon victims. /CORRESPONDENT DALE G. ROSAL

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MANILA – November is shaping up to be a busy month for Pinoy boxing fans with Filipino boxing superstars Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire Jr. both scheduled to return to the ring after suffering losses.

On Tuesday, the Pinoy Pride Series, presented by ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN Sports, announced its latest boxing event “Filipinos Kontra Latinos” with two world championship belts on the line. It will be held at Araneta Coliseum on November 30.

The Filipino boxers will be led by WBO world light-flyweight champion Donni “Ahas” Nietes, who has held a world title since 2007.

The other Pinoy boxers include:

  • Undisputed WBO world minimumweight champion Merlito “Tiger” Sabillo, who downed Colombian challenger Jorlie Estrada during the ninth round with a perfect left hook body shot for his first title defense at the Solaire Resort and Casino last July.
  • Milan “El Metodico” Melindo, who displayed tremendous courage despite losing a 12-round unanimous decision in the unifying WBO/WBA world flyweight championship in Macau against Juan Francisco Estrada.
  • Highly ranked WBO No. 4 contender Jason Pagara, whose quest for a world title is an uphill climb for this young boxer; and
  • AJ “Bazooka” Banal, who has a record of 29-21 with 21 KO’s and is currently No. 13 in the WBO bantamweight rankings, and comes fresh from his victory against Abrahan Gomez last July.

This is the first time that all five Filipino boxers will come together in one event.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/10/15/13/nietes-headline-filipinos-kontra-latinos-event