I didn?t buy the Casamayor-Marquez pay-per-view package Sept. 13, so you shouldn?t expect me to buy the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.-Matt Vanda pay-per-view card Top Rank is expected to stage Nov. 1, even though Nonito Donaire will be featured on the undercard. Donaire, of San Leandro, is arguably the Bay Area?s most important fighter. He has been the International Boxing Federation flyweight champion (112 pounds) since scoring the most stunning knockout of the decade to win the title from Vic Darchinyan in July 2007. Since then, Donaire has been going stir-crazy as promoter Gary Shaw failed to get him fights _ at least not in the six-figure range Donaire ought to command now _ so Donaire has defected to Bob Arum and Top Rank. In the short run, Donaire (19-1) faces a mandatory title defense, and apparently he?ll make that defense against once-beaten South African Moruti Mthalane, whose No. 1 ranking actually seems predicated on ability and at worst is no walkover for Donaire. Mthalane has little drawing power, so Arum got stuck with Chavez Jr.-Vanda (a rematch of a July fight many feel Chavez didn?t deserve to win, especially not by such a lopsided decision). Arum?s intended main event _ a rematch between Antonio Margarito and Joshua Clottey _ fell through because Clottey (not Margarito, the true gate attraction) demanded too much. That removes the card from the exalted world of pay-per-view in my view _ if it belonged there even with Margarito. Young Chavez is unbeaten, but he?s unaccomplished. In the long run, Donaire appears to be in line for bouts at super-flyweight (115). His father-trainer Nonito Sr. told philboxing.com that his son will face Mexican star Jorge Arce if both win their upcoming fights. There?s also talk of Donaire as an attractive opponent for dynamic Sinoloan Fernando Montiel. Now, those fights might be worthy of pay-per-view.
MARQUEZ WIN OVER CASAMAYOR PROBABLY SATISFIED VIEWERS Even though I advise being judicious about buying pay-per-view and didn?t consider Marquez-Casamayor quite worthy of ppv, those who did buy it shouldn?t have been disappointed. At 37, Joel Casamayor still can outbox just about anyone for a few rounds, but ultimately Juan Manuel Marquez has a knack for gaining strength during a fight (even up at 135 pounds) that may indeed make all of his fights ppv-worthy. Former welterweight champ Vernon Forrest rescued his career by avenging an earlier loss to Sergio Mora. HBO will air the fights again this weekend. I wanted to watch another lightweight champ, Nate Campbell, display his artistry on Showtime, but opponent Joan Guzman came in heavy and the bout was canceled.
DONAIRE BROTHERS HAVE ALL-AMERICAN APPEAL Nonito Donaire and his older brother, Glenn, are still fighting in the shadow of Manny Pacquiao, who has given Filipino boxing the respect it had long-since earned but, let?s face it, is not an American. Somehow, despite nearly two decades in this country, the Donaire brothers are viewed as exotics, too, but not by anybody who has ever heard them at a microphone. They have crossover appeal, and of course they have the backing of the large, boxing-hungry Filipino-American community. Glenn may not be on the rise, but he?s still credible in the 108-pound division, despite his unanimous-decision loss to Ulises Solis in Hermosillo, Mexico in July. No judge awarded Glenn a round in a bout some observers thought he had won. So you see, Glenn is becoming a lovable underdog, which Americans sometimes admire.
