This year the talk in boxing has been dominated by the possibility of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather hooking up and despite 2010 being relatively lacking in many ways there are still some notable bouts in the works. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.-Miguel Cotto, Juan Manuel Lopez-Rafael Marquez, and the rumored rematch between Paul Williams and Sergio Martinez are all noteworthy but the one fight that could surpass them all if it were to come off would be the mouth-watering Bantamweight clash between WBO and WBC champion Fernando Montiel and former champion Nonito Donaire.
Stylistically and historically the two men are drastically different yet would seem to compliment one another with their gifts inside of the ring. At 31 years of age Montiel?s 43-2-2 record with 33 kncockouts has seen him burst onto the scene while having to survive a few setbacks along the way, a sign of his perseverance. Donaire?s coming out party came three years back with his shocking stoppage of Vic Darchinyan but his disappointment has come from simply not being able to find the type of high-profile bout that could further catapult his career. That would all change with a Montiel clash.
Montiel was born in Los Mochis, Mexico on March 1st, 1979 and fought many of his early battles in Sonora. He won his first world title in December of 2000 with a seventh round stoppage of Isidro Garcia and followed it up with three successful defenses. His coming out party would be in the summer of 2002 as he halted previously unbeaten Pedro Alcazar at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada in sensational fashion to win the WBO super flyweight crown. On the same card Marco Antonio Barrera would edge Erik Morales in their second encounter and then-budding prospect Miguel Cotto with dispatch former title challenge Justin Juuko in five rounds.
Along the way Montiel has had a few setbacks as he lost decisions to both Mark ?Too Sharp? Johnson in August of 2003 and Mexico City’s Jhonny Gonzalez in May of 2006. Both contests were competitive and Montiel?s brilliant boxing acumen wasn?t enough to deal with Johnson?s savvy or Gonzalez? advantages in size and range. Montiel is currently in the midst of a tremendous 2010 campaign as he blew out undefeated Ciso Morales in one round in February, dethroned WBO Bantamweight champion Hozumi Hasegawa via 4th round stoppage in April and bludgeoned journeyman Rafael Concepcion last month.
Nonito Donaire was born on November 16th, 1982 in Bohol, Philippines before growing up in General Santos City and later relocating to San Leandro, California as a youth. He would make his pro debut in February of 2001 in Inglewood, California and despite losing his second contest he hasn?t tasted defeat since as professional.
Donaire fought primarily in California and Nevada early in his career and received his dream opportunity on July 7th of 2007 in the form of a matchup with trash-talking Armenian Vic Darchinyan. Donaire would execute a brilliant game plan and take command early in the fight before finishing off his elder foe with a beautiful step-back left hook in the 5th round. Seeing Donaire run around the ring in ecstasy after the knockout spoke volumes about his passion for the game.
Since then, however, things have taken a turn as Donaire has been plagued by minor spells of inactivity and simply not being to find the desired fights that would catch the public?s eye. Donaire is coming off of a scintillating stoppage of Hernan ?Tyson? Marquez last month in San Juan, Puerto Rico and would love nothing more than to carry that momentum into a huge clash with Montiel later this year.
Following Donaire?s victory, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum noted that he would do everything in his power to make a fight with Montiel come to life. If the contest does push through it looks as though it would be either sometime in November or on December 4th as the key undercard attraction to the Cotto-Chavez Jr. bout at a site still to be determined.
There are simply some fights that the sport needs and Montiel-Donaire is one of them. They are both similar in that they attack with poised calculation yet have a venomous nature about them, as evidenced by the viscous manner in which each man has ended several contests. Montiel is a dangerous veteran whose career has been rejuvenated while Donaire is the young upstart looking to claim greatness of his own. Let?s hope they can find a way to combine their talents inside of the ring later this year.
As intriguing as a Fernando Montiel-Nonito Donaire clash is, the words above only tell half the story. To continue reading ?Words of War: Fernando Montiel vs. Nonito Donaire? please click HERE to check out a picture by picture look at each man?s story?
