Nietes Skirts Defeat and Edwards Outclasses Mama on a Messy Promotion in Dubai

Nietes Skirts Defeat and Edwards Outclasses Mama on a Messy Promotion in Dubai

Probellum, the new promotional firm founded by former Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, promoted their inaugural show today in Dubai. As professional boxing is governed by Murphy’s Law, it comes as no surprise that their maiden venture got off to a rocky start.

There are 450,000 Filipinos in Dubai, comprising more than 20 percent of the population. Two Filipino boxers of note – John Riel Casimero and Donnie Nietes — dressed up the card, but Casimero was a no-show.

WBO world bantamweight champion John Riel Casimero was penciled in to fight Paul Butler. Casimero would have been making the fourth defense of the title he won with a smashing fourth round knockout of Zolani Tete. But Casimero, who has had weight problems in the past, pulled out yesterday, citing a stomach virus.

Probellum then pit Butler against former title-holder Joseph Agbeko who was already on the card. The WBO approved the match for the interim title, notwithstanding the fact that Agbeko is in his forties (41 per wikipedia; 44 per boxrec) and hasn’t performed well outside his native Ghana. But this match was also scratched. No reason was given.

At least Nietes fulfilled his end of the bargain and he was more than window dressing. A world title-holder in four weight classes (105, 108, 112, 115) and unbeaten in his last 36 starts heading in, the 39-year-old Filipino may be headed to Canastota. If not a future Hall of Famer, he’s at least borderline. If he hadn’t competed in the same era as Manny Pacquiao, he would have become more well-known

However, Nietes (43-1-6, 23 KOs) did not help his cause today as he was held to a draw by his 30-year-old opponent from the Dominican Republic, Norbelto Jiminez. At that, Nietes was probably a tad fortunate as Jiminez slowed down in the last two rounds of the 10-round fight, apparently under the mistaken impression that it was a 12-rounder. The judges had it 96-94, 94-96, 95-95.

Jiminez (30-9-6, 16 KOs) has had a very interesting career. He matured into a world class fighter after losing seven of his first eight pro bouts.

Nietes-Jiminez wasn’t the headliner. That distinction went to the IBF world flyweight title fight between England’s Sunny Edwards and Jayson Mama, another Filipino. They were originally slated to fight in September at the Copper Box in London, but Edwards, the younger brother of former WBC flyweight title-holder Charlie Edwards, suffered an ankle injury in training.

Edwards (17-0, 4 KOs) is a textbook fighter with a pesky jab and a tight defense, lacking only a powerful punch to be considred among the elites. He put on a clinic in his last fight while wresting the IBF diadem from the shoulders of long-reigning Moruti Mthalane and turned in another strong performance tonight. He had the fight well in hand before scoring the bout’s knockdown, putting Mama on the canvas with a straight left in round 10. The judges had it 117-110 and 118-109 twice.

In another bout of note, lightweight Jono Carroll (21-2-1, 6 KOs) blasted out Brazil’s Aelio Mesquita (20-6-1) in the second round. Mesquita was on the deck three times before the referee called a halt. Dublin’s Carroll spent most of November in Las Vegas serving as a sparring partner for Devin Haney. It was Mesquita’s fifth loss inside the distance.

Also, Uzbekistan’s Bakhodir Jalolov (9-0, 9 KOs) needed only 46 seconds to dismiss Colombia’s Julio Cesar Calimeno (4-2). This was Jalolov’s first outing since winning the gold medal as the top seed in the super heavyweight class at the 2020/21 Tokyo Olympics. A six-foot-seven southpaw, Jalolov has a big upside. He sent Calimeno down for the count with the first serious punch that he threw.

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