How I would see it:

(procrastinating hard tonight)
Nice work, I think this looks much better!
The original wasn’t bad either, but overall, I feel like it lacked coherence. The mesh sections only appeared on the heel and toe, while the middle side panel was just a large brown "patch." By opening up the side panel, the mesh and dark sections are now more present, making it more reminiscent of the original 993 design.
I understand the ollie patch, and I also feel like it could use some sort of design solution. This panel is what gives the 993 its distinctive look. From a manufacturing perspective, the ollie patch is probably more expensive, so maybe it could just have a semi-circular rubber overlay (like Shoo Goo) to bring back the dark color, or it could be designed in a way similar to the Tom Knox model.