After Nonito Donaire? latest outing turned out to be a total disappointment in his debut at Madison Square Garden this past October, due in no part to Nonito himself but rather to his opponent Omar Narvaez going into a shell, it?s ironic that the fourth ranked pound-for-pound fighter on the planet once again finds himself as an undercard attraction as part of the Chavez Jr.-Marco Antonio Rubio ticket this coming Saturday night at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. And even though this hasn?t been the first time that the Filipino star was a co-feature rather than a headline bout, perhaps it will be the last, as Nonito ?The Filipino Flash? Donaire 27-1 (18 KO?s) of San Leandro, California looks to make waves in his debut at the junior featherweight level by jumping right in to the mix to take on former world champion Wilfredo ?Papito? Vazquez Jr. 21-1-1 (18 KO?s) of Bayamon, Puerto Rico. In a further irony, this HBO televised event will be for the same WBO title that Vazquez Jr. recently surrendered to a supposedly past his prime Jorge Arce, who, in a resurgent effort would garner a twelfth round stoppage after wearing down the young Puerto Rican in a two way battle back in May of 2011. Arce has since vacated the junior featherweight title to subsequently capture the WBO bantamweight title this past November, becoming the first Mexican fighter to win major titles in five different divisions. As to matters at hand, after scoring the knockout of the year back in 2007 over Vic ?Raging Bull? Darchinyan, Donaire? confidence has soared as he has come to understand just how good a fighter he really is. Since then the Filipino has been on a tear, culminating in a devastating second round KO of longtime bantamweight kingpin Fernando Montiel, which has elevated Donaire to even higher heights. This despite the fact that promotional wrangling with promoter Bob Arum has perhaps set back Donaire? career somewhat in that ?The Filipino Flash? could have already been further along to have debuted much sooner within the junior featherweight ranks. Be that as it may, along with the confidence Donaire possesses he is also a supreme talent, as well as a gifted athlete who appears to be the entire package in the ring, making it hard to imagine him not being able to make a splash at the 122 pound weight limit by first dismantling Vazquez Jr., who although a solid fighter, is perhaps lacking in reflex speed and overall agility as compared to a primed Donaire. ?The Filipino Flash? is quick, slick, and has a solid right hand. However, his lethal power resides in the form of his left hand of which he can jab you, hook you, or uppercut you from multiple angles going in different directions with fight finishing force, which I suspect will be on display as he looks to make a statement to the boxing world once again. To take it a step further, Nonito for me is close to a sure thing to clean out the junior featherweight division, something ?The Filipino Flash? has stated he is intent on doing before perhaps moving up in weight yet again. And when I say close to a sure thing, my original thought was that Donaire would be unabated in his quest to capture all the belts at 122 pounds, but I have since reserved that thought after recently witnessing one Guillermo Rigondeaux plying his trade in person, who?s abilities when on display have changed my mind about Donaire being a sure lock to become the division?s undisputed champion. As to Vazquez Jr. versus Donaire, in the end I believe Nonito? edge in quickness and athleticism will carry the day. That is not to say that Vazquez Jr. isn?t athletic. The Puerto Rican is quite athletic, amazingly capturing a major world title with no amateur background whatsoever in a bit over 3 years as a professional. However, when you combine the Filipino? speed, power, and his ability to fight going backwards or in any other direction, similar to a Sugar Ray Robinson, it makes for a lethal mixture that has put Donaire right behind the likes of the Pacquiao?, Mayweather?, and Martinez? of the world, a tall order for Vazquez Jr. to handle. Technically speaking, the Filipino fighter can outflank an opponent in the blink of an eye to get in position to hit while Wilfredo Jr., who is agile and has good footwork, has not demonstrated that he is equally as fast, or that he has the ability to punch from different angles, as the Puerto Rican rather utilizes his footwork to evade opponents as opposed to gaining other vantage points from which to punch from. In other words, Wilfredo is more prone to engage offensively only when directly in front of an adversary, a place where Donaire may rarely be found. Some fight specifics to look out for will be to see if indeed Vazquez Jr. can adjust to Donaire? speed, or if angles taken by Nonito, a major tactic which has vastly contributed to the Filipino?26 fight win streak, will be as effective as before. To clarify, ?The Filipino Flash? has towered over many of his previous opponents which have resulted in punching angles created to certain degree, angles of which may not be as acute and/or effective against Vazquez Jr. who is relatively Nonito? height. These intricacies will become more evident as the fight progresses. But all in all, Nonito Donaire is not invincible, and that exactly how the Puerto Rican views it stating, ?he (Donaire) is a great athlete, but not a super hero like they want him to be. He?s earned what he has but anyone can be beat.? If Vazquez Jr. can avoid getting tagged early and pick some spots to work in whereby he lands some stiff shots, he may be able to put Donaire on his heels a bit as did Rafael Concepcion when he fought the pound-for-pound fighter in 2009. Rafael was effective against Donaire because he threw technically sound punches, he mixed his shots well to be less than predictable, and Concepcion would move after he landed without over committing. In that way Rafael Concepcion was able to stun Nonito on more than one occasion, exposing the Filipino fighter as vulnerable to a straight right hand, as well as an occasional left hook. And Vazquez Jr. has a very good lead right which if mixed in well or disguised, could throw off the Filipino? timing to pay dividends as one of Donaire? liabilities seems to come in the form of the Filipino? tendency to get out over his front foot. That is certainly why Donaire is not much for landing big right hands in many instances, but on the other hand, getting over his lead foot at times works wonders for Nonito who will lure in opponents to land his lethal left. With that said, Wilfredo cannot afford to become predictable with the right, or neither can he be inaccurate or throw it with less than bad intentions or the Puerto Rican may go the way of Fernando Montiel who was knocked senseless after letting go of a less than sharp looping right hand. Referring once more to Donaire? fight with Rafael Concepcion, what in essence would cause Concepcion to have the momentary successes that he did, were the execution of solid fundamentals. If Vazquez Jr. can remain on his feet and stay steady throughout, then Donaire will surely have to earn this fight as ?Papito? is a solid fundamental fighter. However, Nonito has perhaps learned from his outing with Concepcion, as he appears to be a more focused and aware fighter while seemingly improving at all phases of the game, another added problem for Vazquez Jr. Once again Nonito Donaire is faster and more athletic and I look for him to be one step ahead of his counterpart during any exchanges. What is for sure is that neither man can afford to have any mental lapses as has happened to both on occasion whereas opponents have been able to land solid shots. Keep in mind that Nonito is primarily a counter puncher, with the crux of the matter being that just one counterpunch from ?The Filipino Flash? can come from anywhere on the floor with KO power written all over it. On the other side of the coin, Vazquez Jr. has good power as well, scoring 18 KO?s in his 23 fights. And even though I am definitely leaning in the direction of a Donaire victory, the Filipino fighter must be consistent and avoid making any major mistakes because young Vazquez Jr. has good skills, a great corner, and he is tough, holding his own under an onslaught from Jorge Arce who in looking his best in years kept bringing it to edge out the Puerto Rican who faded in the 12th round in a fight at the time of the stoppage was a majority draw, which could have very well left the title in the hands of Wilfredo if indeed he were to turn that final round in his favor. For ?Papito? to have any chance at victory over ?The Filipino Flash,? he must not only exceed performance wise any of his previous efforts, but he can ill afford to stand and trade as he did on a repeated basis with Arce, or this will place him at tremendous risk and potentially make it a very short night. This brings me to other technical tidbits. When revisited, Vazquez Jr. utilized a jab against Arce that was totally effective against the Mexican fighter, but surprisingly Wilfredo would rarely use it in any significant way which allowed Arce to get on the inside and break him down somewhat. A stiff consistent jab from ?Papito? could prove to be crucial here as a usual counter to the jab is a right hand, which again is not Nonito? best weapon. So in effect the Puerto Rican would be wise to throw a snappy jab repeatedly without pawing with it, in which case Donaire could make his adversary pay. Whatever transpires, Vazquez Jr. cannot count on Donaire to similarly stand in front of him as have others for more time than it takes to unload a combo, as the Filipino will be gone in a flash. This may indeed necessitate that the Puerto Rican assume some risk by going to the body early on. Another item that could factor into this fight is that outside of Florida or Puerto Rico, Vazquez Jr. hasn?t won a fight, garnering a draw in Mexico while recently losing his title to Jorge Arce in Las Vegas, Nevada in the closing moments. Not sure if the Puerto Rican fighter is comfortable in Texas, but he seems confident and has a very good corner which may render this consideration null and void. As far as liabilities on the part of Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., he likes to lay on the inside or on the ropes for stretches without responding quickly enough, which is one reason he lost his title to Jorge Arce two fights ago. Will Nonito step on the inside or try to force Vazquez back? Not likely as Donaire is primarily a counter puncher who in his own words states, I?m really not the type to wear people down. I?m usually the type to outsmart people and get them in my trap and in my plans. Yeah, that?s pretty much what I do in each fight.? So unless Donaire puts the hurt on Wilfredo, I don?t look for Nonito to force the issue as he prefers to work in the open. If there is one punch that Vazquez Jr. seems vulnerable to, which is a staple in the arsenal of ?The Filipino Flash,? it?s the uppercut, especially the left uppercut, a punch with which Donaire would stun his latest victim Omar Narvaez with. Another potential hazard for the Puerto Rican is that when he throws his punches his head remains in the same relative position, in which case Donaire can punch with Jr. to land. Intriguing fight as Donaire looks forward to moving up in weight to capture another title. Stated Nonito on entering the junior featherweight ranks, ?I want to move up. It?s a challenge that I want to see for myself as a fighter. You just don?t really think about that these guys are going to hit harder. You just pretty much think I?m going to win against this guy; I?m going to knock this guy out. That?s pretty much what goes on in my head rather than thinking that these guys are bigger or that they are going to hit harder.? And in preparation to face Vazquez Jr., trainer Robert Garcia has been throwing lightweights at the Filipino fighter. ?The guys were definitely bigger than I expected in the beginning, but my body got accustomed to the size and the width of the bigger guys. So when I sparred with them I was having difficulties in the beginning, but now I kind of got used to that type of body in front of me. So it?s been great,? commented Donaire. As for Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., he has his own thoughts on this fight stating, ?I feel confident, very relaxed. It?s a challenge no question, but it?s also a great chance to demonstrate what I?m capable of. Most important, I get the chance to fight for my title which belongs to me.? Great match up with great expectations from both camps in which boxing fans worldwide may come out the true winners. So if you don?t have an entrance ticket, tune in to HBO this Saturday night live from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas starting at 10PM ET/7PM PT.
