On a personal level, I was quite happy to see Nonito Donaire beat Vic Darchinyan by knockout victory. Not because Darchinyan runs his mouth at every corner, but because I had meet Nonito during the summer of 2005 and he seemed like a good man.
At the time of our encounter Donaire was working out at Don House’s gym in Las Vegas, Nevada, along with Zahir Raheem, Joan Guzman, Roberto Benitez, and the “Flushing Flash” Kevin Kelley. Though I was there to visit with Guzman, I spoke to Donaire at length and he proved to be an amicable, down to Earth young man.
Funny, at the start of our conversation that afternoon, I embarrassingly mistook the young Filipino for the Dominican Benitez, only realizing my error about ten minutes into the conversation. Nonito laughed it off and we exchanged numbers, later on I lost his number, and I never got in contact with him again.
Since then, I have followed his career, but I will not be a hypocrite and say that I picked Donaire to beat Vic. Yet, in the back of my mind, I thought to myself, “Donaire is the bigger man and when I was in Vegas, he was working with even larger men then himself, he might have a shot to upset Darchinyan.”
Too bad I did not take my premonition to Las Vegas, where Donaire was a clear underdog.
Congratulations Nonito, best of luck!
Whose The Farce Now?
Remember about three months ago, when a bout between Jorge Arce and Vic Darchinyan was being sought after by hardcore fans of the sport?
Look at both of the charismatic warriors now.
Arce, who promoter Gary Shaw likes to call Jorge Frace (FAR-SE), was dismantled by fellow Mexican Cristian Mijares. Now Darchinyan, promoted by Shaw, showed that his bark might be much, much bigger than his bite.
Regardless of Darchinyan’s destruction at the hands of Donaire, Gary Shaw proves to be the winner, as he also controls the career of Vic’s conqueror. Fans might want to see a rematch between the two, but one has to wonder if Vic, his handlers, or Shaw would be up for a rematch with the tall and lanky Nonito after Saturday night’s events.
How about Donaire v. Cristian Mijares?
Weeks earlier, when asked about the possibility of Mijares vs. Darchinyan, Shaw made it clear that if Cristian wanted any piece of Darchinyan, he would have to sign with GSP and I am sure the same now holds true for a potential bout with Donaire.
You are a smart man Gary.
Is Corrie Sanders Next?
So much was said about Wladimir Klitschko’s, then career defining, loss to Lamon Brewster this past week and I kept thinking to myself, “Did people forget that before Brewster, Corrie Sanders proverbially knocked Dr. Klitschko the f*&^ out?
Wladimir has improved since the defeats to Brewster and Sanders, that is clear to the boxing world. A rematch with Brewster was completely unnecessary, but I hope that Lamon made enough money to step away from the brutal sport and support his family.
Now there are rumors that the best heavyweight in the world might look to avenge his defeat to Corrie Sanders while waiting for the opportunity to unify with one of his co-champions. What would follow a bout with Ross Puritty. Let us hope that those rumblings are nothing more than a rumor because we do not need Klitschko vs. Sanders on HBO during Saturday afternoon this Fall.
One of the other names being thrown around as Wladimir’s next opponent is Cuban defector Juan Carlos Gomez.
While Juan Carlos Gomez’s commitment to the sport is questionable, the southpaw is a master boxer and could provide a serious challenge to Klitschko’s rise to the sport’s top. Not my number one overall pick for Klitschko’s next challenger, but if faced with Sanders or Gomez, I would take a fight with Gomez all the way.
