Herring vs Frampton: Donnie Nietes to face Orlando Penalba in April 3rd return

Former four-division champion Donnie Nietes is set to end a two-year layoff on April 3rd as part of the newly rescheduled Jamel Herring vs Carl Frampton card. Now, Asian Boxing reports that he’ll face unbeaten Panamanian and WBO No. 13-ranked super flyweight Orlando Penalba.

Countryman Albert Pagara, meanwhile, still has TBA in his crosshairs.

The 38-year-old Nietes (42-1-5, 23 KO) hasn’t seen action since NYE 2018, when he narrowly defeated Kazuto Ioka to claim gold in his fourth weight class. “Ahas” is more than 16 years removed from his last professional defeat and boasts notable wins over Moises Fuentes, Edgar Sosa, and Juan Carlos Reveco.

Penalba (10-0, 2 KO) doesn’t figure to feature on Nietes’ next list of notable wins. The 27-year-old debuted in 2018 and has exclusively fought in his home country, largely against opponents with losing records. His most recent victory, and first 10-rounder, saw him break Keiver Fernandez’s similarly fluffy undefeated streak.

Whether the aging Nietes can still play a factor in the red-hot super flyweight division remains in question, but barring a truly spectacular decline, he should be way too much for Penalba.

In addition to this, the main event, and Pagara vs TBA, the card also features Zhankosh Turarov vs Tyrone McKenna.