Donnie Liboon Nietes (born May 12, 1982) is a Filipino professional boxer who has won world titles in four weight-classes, having previously held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) mini-flyweight title from 2007 to 2011; the WBO and The Ring magazine junior-flyweight titles between 2011 and 2016, the International Boxing Federation (IBF) flyweight title from 2017 to 2018; and the WBO junior-bantamweight title from 2018 to 2019. He is the longest-reigning Filipino boxing world champion, surpassing in 2014 the record set in 1967 by Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Gabriel "Flash" Elorde. He was one of the first three Asian fighters with world titles in at least four weight classes alongside fellow Filipinos Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire.
Nickname Regarding how Nietes got his nickname "Ahas" which is Tagalog for "snake," Tony Aldeguer states:
Professional career Early years Nietes worked as a utility man at the now-disbanded Antonio Lopez Aldeguer's (ALA) boxing gym before taking up boxing after being encouraged by the practitioners with whom he socialized.
In 2003, at the age of 20, Nietes started his career as a professional boxer. On, May 22, 2004, he won the Philippines Boxing Federation (PBF) light flyweight title against Joseph Villasis via first-round technical knockout. Nietes was undefeated before losing in his bout against Angky Angkota via 10-round split decision on September 28, 2004. Angkota weighed in six pounds over the weight limit for this fight.
On November 24, 2006, Nietes won the vacant WBO Asia Pacific Minimumweight Title against Heri Amol of Indonesia via second-round knockout. He defended the title twice against Thai boxers Thongthailek Sor Tanapinyo and Sakulpan Pakdee Gym prior to world title fights in minimumweight division.
Minimumweight On September 30, 2007, Nietes fought then undefeated Pornsawarn Kratingdaenggym of Thailand for the vacant WBO Minimumweight World Title in Waterfront-Cebu City Hotel, Cebu City, Philippines. Although Nietes floored Kratingdaenggym in the fourth round, the Thai boxer managed to get up and last until the final bell. The bout ended in a unanimous decision in favor of Nietes.
Three times, Nietes has been pitted with fighters against whom he was supposed to defend his title, however, all plans have fallen through for undisclosed reasons. Because of this, he was at risk of being stripped off his belt, as WBO rules state that a champion has to defend his title within a year. After 11 months of inactivity, he finally defended his crown, against Eddy Castro (12–3–1) on August 30, 2008. Nietes (23–1–3, with 14 knockouts) won the fight by technical knockout at 2:49 mark of the second round.abs-cbnnews.com, Boom Boom Bautista KOs Mexican challenger in 2nd round
Nietes defended his title for the second time by scoring a unanimous decision victory over Erik Ramirez on February 28, 2009. En route to the win, Nietes sent Ramirez to the canvass four times in separate rounds.
In his third defense, Nietes battled interim champion Manuel Vargas on September 12, 2009. Nietes won the bout by split decision.
On January 23, 2010, Nietes was supposed to defend his WBO title for the fourth time. After a couple of opponents backed out, Mexico's Jesus Silvestre became the last resort. But because Silvestre wasn't ranked in the WBO, Nietes' title wasn't wagered and the bout was only 10 rounds. In the fight, both boxers did well and appeared strong. In the 10th and final round, Nietes was declared winner by TKO when Silvestre stopped to take a drink of water during the fight, a move that was against the rules.
In his fourth title defense, Nietes fought Mexico's Mario Rodriguez. The fight took place on August 14, 2010, at the Auditorio Luis Estrada Medina in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico. The Filipino pugilist won the bout by unanimous decision with scores of 119–109, 118-110 and 116–112.
Nietes was scheduled to defend his title on March 12, 2011, against mandatory challenger and former champion Raul Garcia (29–1–0). However, less than two weeks before the fight, Nietes announced that he would be vacating his world title and moving up in weight. On April 9, 2011, Nietes faced Armando Vazquez (18–5–0) and defeated him via first round knock out.
Light flyweight
On October 8, 2011, Nietes defeated Mexico's Ramón García Hirales via 12-round unanimous decision to win the WBO Light Flyweight title. Nietes defended the title on June 2, 2012, against Felipe Salguero via unanimous decision.
Nietes retained his WBO Light Flyweight title against WBO Minimumweight champion Moises Fuentes on March 2, 2013, via a majority draw.
On November 15, 2014, the Bacolod native successfully defended his WBO and The Ring Light Flyweight titles by stopping Carlos Velarde of Mexico in the 7th round. Nietes became the longest-reigning Filipino world champion on that same day, surpassing the record previously held by Gabriel Elorde.
Flyweight After breaking Elorde's record, Nietes successfully defended his title four more times before deciding to move up to the flyweight division. His first flyweight fight was against former WBC light flyweight champion Edgar Sosa on September 24, 2016. On April 29, 2017, Nietes became the third Filipino boxer to win world titles in three different weight divisions, along with Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire when he defeated Thailand's Komgrich Nantapech. He successfully defended his title against the mandatory challenger Argentinaian and former two division world champion Juan Carlos Reveco winning via Technical Knockout after Reveco's corner throws in the towel, on the 7th round of the fight. On June 14, 2018, Nietes entered The Ring magazine's pound for pound list for the first time in his career at the number nine spot.
Junior bantamweight Nietes made his debut in the junior-bantamweight division against Filipino compatriot Aston Palicte for the vacant WBO Super Flyweight Championship. The fight ended in a split decision draw, 118-110 for Nietes, 116-112 for Palicte and a 114–114 draw at The Forum in Inglewood, California. Punch count statistics saw Nietes, 36, land 194 punches, 70 more than Palicte, his 40 percent of punches landed was nearly twice the accuracy rate of his rival. While not beaten, Nietes was denied a victory that would have put him alongside Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire as the only Asian fighters with world titles in at least four weight classes. He eventually won the same vacant title after defeating Kazuto Ioka via split decision on December 21, 2018, becoming the third Asian to win world titles in at least four weight classes.
On February 6, 2019, the WBO ordered a rematch of Nietes and Palicte after a controversial result of their first fight. On February 28, 2019, Nietes decided to vacate his WBO Junior Bantamweight title to pursue more lucrative fights in a different organization or weight class.
On April 3, 2021, Nietes fought Pablo Carillo, for the vacant WBO International junior-bantamweight title. Nietes won via unanimous decision, the scorecards were, 99–91, 98-92 and 96–95. On December 11, 2021, Nietes made his first title defense against Norbelto Jimenez at the Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The fight ended in a ten-round split decision draw. The scores were 96-94 Nietes, 96-94 Jimenez and 95-95 and Nietes was able to retain his WBO International junior-bantamweight title.
On April 1, 2022, the WBO ordered Kazuto Ioka to make a mandatory title defense against Nietes. The bout was a rematch of their December 31, 2018 fight, in which Nietes won by split decision. Both parties came to an agreement a month later, and officially announced the bout for July 13, 2022. Nietes lost the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 120–108, 118–110 and 117–111.
Bantamweight Nietes is set to face Muhammad Waseem on July 22, 2023, in Dubai for the vacant IBO bantamweight world title. The fight has been postponed due to visa issue by Waseem's team.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes53LossJun IkegawaUD6May 20, 2025 52Win Miller AlaporminaUD6Apr 10, 2025 51Loss Kazuto IokaUD12Jul 13, 2022 50Draw43–1–6 Norbelto JimenezSD10Dec 11, 2021 49Win43–1–5 Pablo CarilloUD10Apr 3, 2021 48Win42–1–5 Kazuto IokaSD12Dec 31, 2018 47Draw41–1–5 Aston Palicte12Sep 8, 2018 46Win41–1–4 Juan Carlos RevecoTKO7 (12), Feb 24, 2018 45Win40–1–4 Komgrich NantapechUD12Apr 29, 2017 44Win39–1–4 Edgar SosaUD12Sep 24, 2016 43Win38–1–4 Raul GarciaRTD5 (12), May 28, 2016 42Win37–1–4 Juan AlejoUD12Oct 17, 2015 41Win36–1–4 Francisco Rodríguez Jr.UD12Jul 11, 2015 40Win35–1–4 Gilberto ParraRTD9 (12), Mar 28, 2015 39Win34–1–4 Carlos Velarde7 (12), Nov 15, 2014 38Win33–1–4 Moisés FuentesTKO9 (12), May 10, 2014 37Win32–1–4 Sammy GutiérrezTKO3 (12), Nov 30, 2013 36Draw31–1–4 Moisés FuentesMD12Mar 2, 2013 35Win31–1–3 Danai MeendaengKO5 (12), Nov 17, 2012 34Win30–1–3 Felipe SalgueroUD12Jun 2, 2012 33Win29–1–3 Ramón García HiralesUD12Oct 8, 2011 32Win28–1–3 Armando VazquezKO1 (10), Apr 9, 2011 31Win27–1–3 Mario RodríguezUD12Aug 14, 2010 30Win26–1–3 Jesús SilvestreTKO10 (10), Jan 23, 2010 29Win25–1–3 Manuel VargasSD12Sep 12, 2009 28Win24–1–3 Erik RamirezUD12Feb 28, 2009 27Win23–1–3 Eddy CastroKO2 (12), Aug 30, 2008 26Win22–1–3 Pornsawan PorpramookUD12Sep 30, 2007 25Win21–1–3 Saengpetch Sor SakulphanTKO7 (12), Jul 7, 2007 24Win20–1–3 Thongthailek Sor TanapinyoKO2 (12), Apr 21, 2007 23Win19–1–3 Heri AmolKO2 (12), Nov 24, 2006 22Win18–1–3 Robert RubillarUD10Aug 12, 2006 21Win17–1–3 Noel VeronqueUD6Jan 15, 2006 20Win16–1–3 Allan DugangUD8Dec 30, 2005 19Win15–1–3 Randy NarbayKO2 (8), Sep 25, 2005 18Win14–1–3 Allan DugangUD10Aug 28, 2005 17Draw13–1–3 Nino Suelo1 (8), Jul 30, 2005 16Win13–1–2 Elmer MuycoUD10Apr 30, 2005 15Win12–1–2 Ricardo AlbiaTKO7 (8), Jan 29, 2005 14Draw11–1–2 Carlo BesaresMD10Nov 20, 2004 13Loss11–1–1 Angky AngkotaSD10Sep 28, 2004 12Win11–0–1 Abrin MattaTKO5 (10)Sep 7, 2004 11Win10–0–1 Marti PoliiTKO7 (10), Aug 3, 2004 10Win9–0–1 Robert CosteloTKO1 (10), Jun 29, 2004 9Win8–0–1 Joseph VillasisTKO1 (10), May 22, 2004 8Win7–0–1 Robert RubillarTKO7 (10), Mar 28, 2004 7Win6–0–1 Julius Alcos10Feb 28, 2004 6Win5–0–1 Rolando BaclayoKO4 (10), Dec 27, 2003 5Win4–0–1 Roldan Malinao4 (8), Oct 4, 2003 4Draw3–0–1 Greg Mangan8Aug 16, 2003 3Win3–0 Rommel Tura1 (8), Jun 12, 2003 2Win2–0 Mario Jun de AsisUD6May 31, 2003 1Win1–0 Walter Suaybaguio6Apr 25, 2003
Titles in boxing Major world titles: WBO mini flyweight champion (105 lbs) WBO junior flyweight champion (108 lbs) IBF flyweight champion (112 lbs) WBO junior bantamweight champion (115 lbs)
The Ring magazine titles: The Ring junior flyweight champion(108 lbs)
Regional/International titles: WBO Asia Pacific mini flyweight champion (105 lbs) light flyweight champion (108 lbs) WBO Inter-Continental flyweight champion (112 lbs) WBO International junior bantamweight champion (115 lbs)
Honorary titles: WBO Super Champion
Awards and recognition 2015 Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Sportsman of the Year 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 Gabriel "Flash" Elorde Memorial Boxer of the Year
Legacy A statue of Nietes was built in Murcia, Negros Occidental.
See also List of Filipino boxing world champions List of IBF world champions List of WBO world champions List of The Ring world champions List of mini-flyweight boxing champions List of light-flyweight boxing champions List of flyweight boxing champions List of super-flyweight boxing champions List of boxing quadruple champions
References
External links
Donnie Nietes - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings at Box.Live