Dateline Carson — The city of Carson continued to make its mark as a world-class venue for professional sports Saturday night when a sold-out crowd of 27,000 at the Stub Hub Center saw Donnie (Ahas) Nietes, the longest reigning world champion Filipino boxer, successfully defend his WBO light featherweight crown.
Making his debut in the U.S., the 33-year-old Nietes bested challenger Juan Alejo after 12 rounds to improve his record (37-1-4, 21 KOs). The win was Nietes’ eighth successful defense of his WBO title. Alejo (21-4, 13 Kos) is from Guadalupe, Mexico.
Mayor Albert Robles called the world championship title fight Saturday more proof that “Carson has become a top-notch sporting venue in Los Angeles.
“It will arguably become the region’s sports capital if and when the NFL decides to allow the Chargers and Raiders’ franchises to relocate to our city.”
The two NFL teams are asking the league to allow them to relocate to a yet-to-be-built stadium in Carson from their current homes in San Diego and Oakland. A vote of NFL owners is expected in January, well before the Super Bowl.
“The Stub Hub Center is a sports venue gem,” said Mr. Robles. “Not only does the Galaxy play soccer there, but also the Stub Hub Center has become well-known as a go-to venue to see professional boxing. Obviously, the NFL franchises would be huge, huge addition.
The mayor believes Carson has proven “it has the public safety resources and the traffic management infrastructure to host large-scale sporting events.
“The city always is ready to upgrade the services and protections needed to be a terrific host for sporting events,” he said.
Mr. Robles pointed out that the City Council recently proposed a ban on drone flights over the Stub Hub Center and an NFL stadium to deal with public safety concerns.
Mr. Schwada may be contacted at john.schwada@gmail.com
