ONE of the best commentaries I have read on Nonito Donaire?s loss to Nicholas Walters came from Mark Villanueva, entitled ?The Donaire Principle?. Check out this link to the well written piece from Villanueva, who is a patron and benefactor of the sport, aside from being a boxing scribe: philboxing.com/news/story-100102.html.
According to Mark, Donaire could have opted to box and pile up the points but instead he chose to engage. Thus: ? He chose to slug it out with a known knockout artist, placing his bet on a chance against a bigger, stronger fighter- a stance that kept the audience in an unstable state for his vagaries.?
POWER. I couldn?t agree more with Mark. Knowing Nonito, he almost always goes for the knockout ?to a fault it may now seem. But that?s the way he is built- he prefers highlight reel stoppages because he knows he has the one -punch knockout power to take any one out.
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Circa 2007, when he was an unknown fighter challenging Vic Darchinyan (principally to extract revenge over the latter?s knockout victory over brother Glenn), I honestly thought he was way in over his head.
What made things seem even more incongruous was the fact that he kept talking about Darchinyan tasting his power, when at that time, the ?Raging Bull? was in his prime and was the apex predator in the lower weight classes.
Then it happened. A left hook that instantly brought fame, recognition and fortune.
He made believers in all of us,-and in the prodigious power of his fists as he never ceased to disappoint after that with knockout wins over top- tier opponents like Hernan Marquez, Fernando Montiel, Jorge Arce and many more.
But if I may paraphrase an adage- power corrupts and in boxing , reliance on power alone, corrupts your style.
Not that I?m complaining, mind you. ?The Filipino Flash? happens to be one of my favourite fighters, and if he retires and hangs up his gloves, I wouldn?t have wanted it any other way. Those knockout highlights will forever be deified in our collective pugilistic memories.
But now since he wants to soldier on, comes the question of continuity- where does his career go and what to do now?
Nonito now has to re-assess his approach in fights. As he himself admitted, he can?t seem to handle the power of someone like Walters, so he can?t expect to bomb him way through the featherweight division.
The rumored option for him is to go back down to super bantamweight, which is still probably doable, but at his age 31, going back down in weight will only make him prone to more infirmities.
NIETES. Again, let me reiterate my position that Donaire could very well beat Walters in a rematch.
Perhaps Nonito can take out a page or two from fellow Pinoy champ Donnie Nietes? book of smarts.
If you recall, ?Ahas? fought the bigger, taller, younger and stronger Moises Fuentes to a controversial majority draw , but in the rematch, Nietes came up with a beautifully crafted game plan, executed it to perfection and routed the shocked Fuentes in 9 rounds.
Ultimately, Donaire will be faced with a conundrum: Stick with his power-punching and move back down in weight in the hope of finding easier targets , or tweak his style a bit and go for bigger challenges in the featherweight division, including a rematch with Walters?
The former will be the more fan-pleasing option while the latter is geared towards extending his career and winning more titles.
It?s a tough choice , even for the ?Filipino Flash?.
LAST ROUNDS. Are on our father and son tandem- Engr. Roy Limbaga and little cherub Roy Miguel, born on the same day, Oct. 26. Happy birthdays and cheers to you guys!
