Nietes keeps WBO crown

BACOLOD CITY— Donnie Nietes made what was thought to be a hard fight into a walk in the park late Saturday night in retaining World Boxing Organization (WBO) light-flyweight crown for the ninth time at the St. La Salle Coliseum. Mexican challenger Raul Garcia retired at the end of the fifth round after being floored twice in the third and getting banged up in the fourth and fifth stanzas, enabling the Filipino champion to look forward to a landmark fight in the US this September. Photo courtesy of bleacherreport.com   It was a surprisingly easy victory by Nietes (now 38-1-4 with 22 KOs), one of boxing’s longest reigning champions, as Garcia (36-4-1 with 23 KOs) came into the bout armed with a fearsome reputation of being an iron-chinned puncher. But Nietes’ power was on full display on a night when a loss was not a viable option. “The body blows [...]