FOUR-DIVISION world champion Donnie Nietes faces two-time world title challenger Norbelto Jimenez in a World Boxing Association (WBA) super flyweight world title eliminator in one of the main featured bouts of “Probellum: Revolution” at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, UAE on Dec. 11, 2021.
The 39-year-old Nietes hopes to get another run at a world championship before time runs out and Father Time catches up with him.
Even though Nietes is already up there in age, he proved that he still has a lot left in his tank after a dominant unanimous decision win over Pablo Carrillo in his ring return last April 3, 2021 following a two-year hiatus. The win earned him a spot back in the world rankings. He is now rated No. 3 by the World Boxing Organization (WBO), No. 4 by the WBA and No. 6 by the World Boxing Council (WBC).
Nietes will be facing a more formidable opponent in Jimenez, compared to his last fight.
The 30-year-old Jimenez is currently ranked in the top 10 of two of the four major world boxing sanctioning bodies. He’s ranked No. 6 by the WBA and No. 8 by the WBC.
Jimenez has fought for a world title twice in the past. He fought Kohei Kono for the WBA super flyweight belt and settled for a split draw in 2014 in Japan. After winning nine straight fights, he earned his second shot at the WBA super flyweight belt and lost to Khalid Yafai via a lopsided unanimous decision.
Following his loss to Yafai, Jimenez fought unbeaten Aliu Lasisi to split the draw and beat Marvin Solano by unanimous decision in 2020.
Nietes, the longest reigning Filipino world champion, is 43-1-5 with 23 knockouts, while Jimenez is 30-9-5 with 16 knockouts.
The winner of the world title eliminator becomes the mandatory challenger of WBA super flyweight champion Joshua Franco.
The “Probellum: Revolution” show is headlined by a double world championship that features Pinoy warriors Johnriel Casimero and Jayson Mama.
Casimero (31-4, 21 KOs) defends his World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight belt against mandatory challenger Paul Butler (33-2, 15 KOs), while Mama (16-0, 9 KOs) challenges International Boxing Federation (IBF) flyweight champion Sunny Edwards (16-0, 4 KOs).