Donnie Nietes is set for his ring comeback on April 3 against Pablo Carrillo for the vacant WBO international super-flyweight title in Dubai.
His new promoter D4G Promotions made the announcement Tuesday, March 16, almost three years after Nietes appeared in his last fight in the squared circle.
The 38-year-old hasn’t fought since New Year’s Eve 2018 when he scored a split-decision victory over Japanese Kazuto Ioka for the WBO super-flyweight crown in Macau.
Plans for a rematch between Nietes and fellow Filipino Aston Palicte fell through in early-2019 as both sides couldn’t agree on terms to face off again after their fight for the WBO super-fly belt ended in a draw.
Nietes’ inactivity stretched into 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, his old promoter ALA Boxing Promotions closed shop due to the crisis.
It will be the first fight of Nietes, which holds a ring record of 42 wins, one draw and five defeats with 23 knockouts, under the Dubai-based promotion which signed the four-division champion last October.
Carrillo, who hails from Colombia and ranked No. 8 by the World Boxing Association, stakes his ring record of 25-7-1 with 16 KOs.