When Nonito Donaire Jr. squares off against Carl Frampton of Ireland in Belfast on April 21, he will also have in his corner former world champion Clarence ?Bones? Adams, which will hopefully give him an edge over his opponent from Ireland.
Having a former fighter in your corner has its advantages, like having actual experience from the ring. Manny Pacquiao?s former trainer Freddie Roach, even if he did not win a world championship, also proves that former fighters can produce world champions.
Adams was a former bantamweight champion who had an impressive amateur record of 176-4 and professional record of 44-7-4 with 20 knockouts. He was considered a warrior during an era when the bantamweight division was teeming with talent.
Now 43 years old, Adams can prove to be a good addition to Donaire?s camp as he takes on Frampton on April 21.
The last fight of Donaire (38-4 with 24 knockouts) was a 12-round decision win over Ruben Garcia Hernandez (22-3-1 with 9 KOs) in September while Frampton (24-1 with 14 KOs) decisioned Horacio Garcia (33-4-1 with 24 KOs) in November.
Since Donaire is already 35 years old, there are fight observers who think the 31-year old Frampton can dispose of him.
From studying the styles of the two fighters, however, I would lean slightly toward Donaire winning over Frampton for one good reason: The Filipino has had a bad time in the ring against fighters who are technical like Guillermo Rigondeaux and Jessie Magdaleno. Both defeated Donaire.
Frampton is more of a warrior who loves to mix it up and does not have impressive defense.
Also, the only fighter to stop Donaire was Nicholas Walters who outweighed the Filipino by 25 pounds when they squared off in October 2014.
Studying closely Frampton?s fight footages, it is very clear he loves to mix it up if the opportunity presents itself. Donaire used to fall into that trap too but his latest fight against Hernandez showed he has developed patience, electing to box rather than mix it up.
But the question is, can Donaire stick to his new template of not mixing it up against Frampton, who has been fighting at featherweight (126 pounds) since July 2016 or for a longer time compared to Donaire? The Filipino?s victory over Hernandez was his first foray in the featherweight division.
When it comes to the fighters? money punch, Frampton has relied more on the right cross while Donaire is prolific with the left hook. And it is here when things become interesting, because it may be very hard for a shorter fighter to land the right cross on a taller fighter unless he can walk through his opponent?s punches, in which case Donaire has proven in the Hernandez fight that his left hook is still a deadly weapon.
Donaire is two inches taller than Frampton and has a six-inch reach advantage.
Also, in his two championship fights against a taller Leo Santa Cruz (July 2016 and January 2017), Frampton ate a lot of left hooks from his opponent and Santa Cruz does not have a deadly left hook like Donaire?s. Frampton lost his first bout against Santa Cruz via majority decision, but beat his opponent in the rematch by majority decision.
But as Mike Tyson loves to say, ?everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.?
Donaire will also have to deal with the pressure of having to win more than Frampton, because the Filipino may have two to three more fighting years ahead of him. So a loss, especially by stoppage, could mean the end for the Filipino.
On the other hand, Frampton still has five to six years ahead of him as a fighter and a loss, even by stoppage, will not send him to retirement the soonest.
Donaire?s camp at this point, however, is impressive because besides Adams, he has as his head trainer Ismael Salas, a Cuban who was behind the success of at least 19 world champions.
So will Donaire beat Frampton this April 21? I still do not have the answer.
