TWO LITTLE-known boxers have something that Manny Pacquiao doesn’t: A world boxing title.
Minimumweight Florante Condes and flyweight Nonito Donaire, fighting on opposite sides of the globe, became the country’s latest world champions, winning their bouts just 12 hours apart.
Condes carved out a hard-fought 12-round split decision over Muhammad Rachman of Indonesia to snatch the International Boxing Federation (IBF) diadem in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Several hours later in Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States, Donaire scored a sensational fifth-round knockout win over erstwhile unbeaten Vic Darchinyan of Australia to bag the IBF crown, thanks to a lethal counter left hook to Darchinyan’s jaw.
The victories brought the number of Filipino world champions to 32, counting only the World Boxing Council (WBC), World Boxing Association (WBA) and the IBF as the only legitimate world boxing bodies owing to the proliferation of obscure alphabet organizations.
Condes is originally from Romblon but now resides with chief handler Aljo Jaro in Binangonan, Rizal, while Donaire hails from General Santos City but is now a resident of San Leandro, California.
Condes also became the fourth Filipino to win boxing’s lightest weight class after Eric Chavez, Manny Melchor and Joma Gamboa, while Donaire is the 12th titleholder of the storied weight category that once had as champions the likes of Small Montana, Little Dado, Salvador ‘‘Dado’’ Marino, Bernabe Villacampo, Erbito Salavarria, Frank Cedeno, Dodie Boy Pe?alosa, Rolando Bohol, Pacquiao and Malcolm Tunacao.
Three fighters who have won a second world title in a different weight bracket include Pe?alosa, who also reigned as light-fly titlist, Luisito Espinosa (bantam and feather) and Pacquiao (super-bantam).
While Pacquiao is widely regarded as the best super-featherweight in the world today, the 28-year-old southpaw, is actually belt-less, having only the WBC International version of the 130-lb title to show off.
Despite this, Pacquiao is considered as among the world’s best pound-for-pound as evidenced by his lofty ranking in such esteemed organizations like the Ring magazine and the Boxing Writers Association of America, two groups that voted him as 2006’s Boxer of the Year awardee.
