Donnie Nietes vs. Juan Alejo: Fight Time, Date, Preview and More

The Philippines have produced a number of excellent boxers, with the lion's share of attention devoted to eight-division titleholder Manny Pacquiao. 

Pacquiao boxed his way out of the Philippines to become a global icon, fighting the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr., Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Juan Manuel Marquez and many other greats. He's paved the way for fighters from his homeland, several of whom will take their talents to the United States on Saturday.

The headliner in this group is Donnie Nietes (36-1-4, 21 KO), the WBO World Light Flyweight Champion. He'll be putting his title on the line and making his stateside debut against Juan Alejo (21-3, 13 KO) at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, on Saturday, October 17 at 4 p.m. local time. The bout will air on BeIN Sports USA.

RingTV.com's Ryan Songalia has the rundown on the other Filipino scrappers rounding out the card:

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The show will be the first American venture for ALA Promotions, which is based in Cebu City, Philippines, and will also feature several of the company’s young prospects, including junior welterweight Jason Pagara (36-2, 22 KOs), his junior featherweight brother Albert Pagara (24-0, 17 KOs) and featherweight Mark Magsayo (11-0, 9 KOs).

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Pound for pound, Nietes is one of the best boxers out there scrapping today. Ring Magazine lists him as No. 1 in the light flyweight division. BoxRec has him second to Pedro Guevara. He is the longest-reigning Filipino champion in history and has successfully defended his WBO World title seven times since 2011. 

Not only does he have a great reputation, but his bouts tend to be pretty darn good for spectators. Nietes is a technical boxer with excellent counter-punching instincts, and he hardly shies away from action. He's coming off a stoppage win over Gilberto Parra in March and a unanimous-decision victory over Francisco Rodriguez Jr., in July, a fight he won rather easily despite breaking his right hand in the seventh round.

In preparation for Alejo, Nietes has been training at Freddie Roach's Wild Card Gym, via ABS-CBN Sports: 

There isn't much of a book on Alejo. BoxRec ranks him No. 24 in the light flyweight division. He's undefeated since losing the first three bouts of his career with an average knockout rate (54 percent), but the combined record of his last five opponents is 64-57-6.

He's not a big name by any means, but according to Abac Cordero of the Philippine Star, Nietes has found a modern way to study up on his latest opponent: YouTube.

"I’ve watched him. He’s not too active. He’s just waiting to counter” said Nietes, via Cordero.

Nietes has more than proved himself at the light flyweight division. In search of greater fame and fortune, he could move up to the flyweight ranks and take on the likes of Roman Gonzalez, a great Mexican fighter Nietes is confident he could defeat.

“Yes I can beat him,” said Nietes, via Songalia, writing for Rappler.com. “If that fight will come my way I will train double and study the way he fights.”

That's the mark of a confident pugilist, as Gonzalez is Ring Magazine's top pound-for-pound fighter, ahead of the likes of Andre Ward, Sergey Kovalev and Gennady Golovkin.

Assuming Nietes wins on Saturday—which he should, handily—a move up to flyweight would be the perfect test for the Filipino champ. Along with Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire, Nietes is a top Filipino draw. If he wants to separate himself from the other two in 2016, he should go in search of bigger, grander opponents and leave behind a division he has dominated.