MANILA, Philippines – Take it from someone who closely monitors IBF/WBO superbantamweight champion Nonito Donaire Jr.?s progress in training for his fight against WBC ?emeritus? titleholder Toshiaki Nishioka at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, on Oct. 13. Donaire?s father-in-law Gerry Marcial said he has studied the styles of both protagonists and predicted a fourth round knockout win for the Filipino Flash.
Marcial was in Manila recently to fetch his wife Becky and visit their daughter Nicole who?s taking up a nursing course here. His daughter Rachel is married to Donaire.
?Nishioka?s a southpaw and he?s got a strong left straight but he needs a standing target to connect,? said Marcial, a martial arts instructor. ?Sure, he has power but can he land? Nonito will be moving in and out, side to side. Nishioka likes to lunge in with a left after throwing a right jab. I think before Nishioka can throw the left, Nonito will get him with a counter left hook. The way I see it, he?s not going to last four rounds.?
Marcial said Nishioka will get what he deserves. ?At the weigh-in for Nonito?s last fight against (Jeffrey) Mathebula, Nishioka showed up and wanted to challenge Nonito right there and then,? said Marcial. ?I thought that was disrespectful and a Japanese writer Masa Ueda prevented Nishioka from doing it. But after the fight, Nishioka worked his way to the top of the ring and called out Nonito. He wasn?t supposed to be Nonito?s next opponent. (Jorge) Arce was next in line but I heard he asked for too much money. Since Nishioka was available, he got the call.?
Marcial said it?s possible the Donaire-Arce fight will still happen, maybe in December if it can be squeezed in the schedule depending on the outcome of the Oct. 13 bout. ?Arce probably figured he might as well get paid a lot because he?s not going to beat Nonito anyway,? said Marcial. ?But that would be a fans? fight. That?ll be a brawl. And I?d love to see that fight in Manila before the year ends even if Arce doesn?t own a title right now.?
Donaire, 29, hasn?t lost in his last 28 fights and is a huge favorite to beat Nishioka but experience is on the Japanese?s side. When Nishioka turned pro in 1994, Donaire was only 12 years old. Nishioka, 36, has logged 46 fights while Donaire, only 30. Donaire?s record is 29-1 with 18 KOs. Nishioka?s mark is 39-4-3 with 24 KOs. In eight fights involving a Filipino, Nishioka won seven, four by KO, and drew with Fernando Montilla. He has stopped Rodel Llanita, Pedrito Laurente, Joel Junio and Joel Avila.
What makes Nishioka a dangerous opponent is his big heart. Unlike other Japanese champions, Nishioka isn?t afraid to fight away from home. He has fought and won three bouts in Las Vegas, knocked out Mexico?s Jhonny Gonzalez in Monterrey and even picked up a victory in France. Last October, Nishioka was in Las Vegas to outpoint Juan Manuel Marquez? brother Rafael. Nishioka won the WBC 122-pound title in 2009 and made six successful defenses before he was elevated to ?emeritus? status, giving way to Mexico?s Abner Mares who now wears the WBC belt. It will be close to one year that Nishioka hasn?t fought when he finally gets in the ring with Donaire. The long period of inactivity was cited as the reason why the WBC decided to recognize Mares instead although critics said it was another example of preferential treatment for Mexicans by the Mexico-based WBC whose president is Jose Sulaiman, a Mexican.
Marcial said Donaire has his own fans club in Japan and won?t be without Japanese supporters when he battles Nishioka. ?Nonito?s good friend Dr. Osamu Kato won?t be able to make the trip to the US as he?s been ill but his assistants will go,? said Marcial. ?Nonito tries to go to Japan whenever he can to visit Dr. Kato who has been very supportive of his career.?
The Ring Magazine is undecided on whom to recognize as the world superbantamweight champion with its throne vacant. Rated No.1 is Nishioka, No. 2 Cuban Guillermo Rigondeaux and No. 3 Donaire. Curiously, the Ring ranks Donaire No. 4 in its pound-for-pound ladder behind Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweahter and Sergio Martinez, ignoring Nishioka and Rigondeaux in the top 10.
For Nishioka, the time has come to reestablish his supremacy in the 122-pound ranks after losing his WBC title by default. This is his fourth assignment in the US and biggest test. Nishioka is coming off a win over Marquez in October last year on scores of 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113 so there was little basis for the Mexican to insist ?I was ahead on points from the earlier rounds and I won the fight.? Nishioka said his defense was the key to victory. ?Marquez is a great fighter and I could not relax for a second in the fight,? he said, quoted by Chris Cozzone in the Ring Magazine. Marquez hurt Nishioka with a big right in the ninth round but the Japanese survived the attack to coast the rest of the way.
