NIETES RECEIVES WBO DIAMOND RING; WEIGHTS FOR PINOY PRIDE 31
CEBU CITY – WBO junior flyweight world champion Donnie “Ähas” Nietes was awarded a very special ring by the World Boxing Organization after the official weigh-in held today at the SM Activity Center. On hand for the ceremony were WBO Pres. Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel, WBO Asia Pacific VP Leon Panoncillo and WBO ratings committee chairman Luis Perez.
The diamond encrusted ring,with rubies and emeralds was given to Nietes to acknowledge his accomplishments as the longest reigning Filipino world champion and being a champion in two weight categories under the WBO.
Nietes will be defending his WBO and Ring magazine 108lb division belts this Saturday for the seventh time against Mexican challenger Francisco Rodriguez at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel. Nietes is only the second Filipino boxer, after Manny Pacquiao to be awarded a ring by the WBO. He also joins the likes of of Oscar dela Hoya, Marco Antonio Barerra, Joe Calzaghe and Juan Manuel Marquez.
Both Nietes and Rodriguez stepped on the scales at 108lbs during the weigh-in supervised by GAB-Cebu.
WBO two-division champion Donnie Nietes (L) and former WBO minimumweight (R) pose during Friday’s official weighin held at the activity center of SM City Cebu.
Nietes receives the WBO diamond-encrusted ring from WBO president Francisco Paco Valcarcel. Witnessing the awarding are ALA President Michael Aldeguer (L) and WBO Vice-President for Asia-Pacific Leon Panoncillo Jr. (R); and a close-up of Nietes’s WBO diamond-encrusted ring.
WBO officials of the Nietes-Rodriguez world title fight (L-R): Referee Russell Mora, Judges Robert Hecko, Benoit Roussel and Lisa Giampa.