By Keith Idec

Donnie Nietes wasn’t just masterful defensively Saturday night.

The Philippines’ Nietes also displayed offensive firepower by knocking out challenger Juan Carlos Reveco in the seventh round of their fight for Nietes’ IBF light flyweight title. Nietes nailed Reveco with a sweeping left hook that knocked him flat on his back 26 seconds into the seventh round in the opener of HBO’s “Boxing After Dark” tripleheader from The Forum in Inglewood, California.

Reveco reached his feet, but didn’t respond well to referee Eddie Hernandez Sr. commands. His corner men asked Hernandez to stop the bout before the action resumed.

Nietes (41-1-4, 23 KOs) made the first defense of the IBF 112-pound championship he won by out-pointing Thailand’s Komgrich Nantapech (23-5, 15 KOs) on April 29 in Cebu City, Philippines. The 35-year-old Nietes, a former WBO light flyweight and WBO minimumweight champion, hasn’t lost since dropping a 10-round split decision to Angky Angkotta in September 2004.

Before stopping Argentina’s Reveco (39-3, 19 KOs), Nietes mostly impressed with his defense. Reveco tried every which way to hit Nietes to the head and body, but had little success, as Nietes kept his hands held high and blocked most of Reveco’s body blows.

Nietes was winning the fight comfortably when he rocked Reveco with an overhand right just before the end of the sixth round. A disoriented Reveco stumbled toward his corner after the bell sound and seemed to start the seventh round on unsteady legs.

An opportunistic Nietes pounced on Reveco early in the seventh round and finished him.

The 34-year-old Reveco, a former WBA flyweight title-holder, fell to 4-3 in his past seven bouts.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for krikya360.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.