I ALWAYS thought Manny Pacquiao was a once-in-a-generation athlete. But there may actually be another one following in his footsteps in Nonito Donaire. The US-based Fil-Am stopped Wladimir Sidorenko at 1:48 of the fourth round of a scheduled 12-round bantamweight fight at the Honda Center last Sunday morning.
With the victory, Donaire (25-1, 17 knockouts) earned the right to challenge for Fernando Montiel?s 118-pound titles on Feb. 19.
Donaire dominated Sidorenko (22-2-2, 7 KOs ) from the beginning, putting the Ukrainian down three times with overwhelming power shots.
He hurt Sidorenko with a left hook midway through the first round and then put him down with a left hook-straight right combination. Sidorenko, his face covered in blood from a possible broken nose, went down from another left hook in the third round.
And, in the fourth, a left-right combination sent blood gushing out of Sidorenko?s nostrils forcing him to take a knee and quit the fight.
Previous to the beating, Sidorenko, a former bantamweight titleholder, had never been stopped in his career.
The 28-year-old Donaire is five years younger than Pacquiao and an inch taller.
Five years ago, Pacquiao was not even as highly regarded as Donaire Jr. is now.
But Pacquiao wasn?t satisfied being considered as just another good fighter. He continued to work under the watchful eyes of trainer Freddie Roach and became a two-fisted fighter buzzsaw, who eventually annexed titles in eight weight classes. He is so good that Bob Arum now proclaims him as the greatest fighter he?s ever seen.
?I?m hoping to be able to get where Manny is. Who wouldn?t? I want to be a star. I want to fight the big fights and the best guys. It?s not right now for anyone to talk about being another Manny Pacquiao. There?s only one Manny Pacquiao,? said Donaire in a published interview.
Donaire is fifth on The Ring?s list of the best pound-for-pound champion and he?s 10th according to ESPN.com.
Like Pacquiao before him, Donaire has the same brawling, aggressive style and the determination to conquer worlds. It?s obvious that he has ambitions far beyond the World Boxing Association super flyweight and the WBA bantamweight title belts he holds.
Pacquiao was not even as universally acclaimed as Donaire at a comparative age. Pacquiao was largely a one-handed fighter at 28. But he suddenly unveiled an effective right when he beat Eric Morales in 2006.
Donaire will similarly have to improve his game. He will also have to improve his conditioning much the way Pacquiao did. But Donaire is certainly heading in the right direction, following in the footsteps blazed by Pacquiao.
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Watching the Alaska Aces blow a 31-point lead and eventually struggle in the fourth period against the San Miguel Beermen, Alaska coach Tim Cone must have had a sinking feeling of d?j? vu.
LA Tenorio eventually averted another fourth quarter collapse when he drilled a last-second triple to lift the Alaska Aces to a pulse-pounding 92-89 victory over the Beermen.
With the score tied at 89-all and with just five seconds left in the game, Tenorio dribbled the length of the court, then banked in a triple over the outstretched hands of Alex Cabagnot to push the Aces to victory.
With the win, the Aces (6 wins, 7 losses) climbed to sixth place in the standings overtaking the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (5 wins, 6 losses) by just a few percentage points.
The Beermen (11-3) are still alone at the top of the standings. The other teams include the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings (9-3), the Talk ?N Text Tropang Texters (9-3), the Meralco Bolts (6-6), the BMEG Derby Ace Llamados (6-6), the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (5-6), the Air21 Express (5-7), the Powerade Tigers (3-10) and the Barako Bull Energy Boosters (2-11).
Before the winning play, Dondon Hontiveros tied the game at 89-all with a triple of his own with 5.6 ticks remaining.
?We?re trying to get our game ready for the playoffs and we didn?t achieve that. It?s a mental thing. One that we?re trying to battle through, but hopefully the win gives us some much needed confidence. It was a tale of two teams. Our first half play showed how good we could be,? said coach Tim.
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