Life Imitates Art. And when WBO & IBF jr. featherweightt champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire, Jr. locks horns with WBC jr. featherweight Champion Emeritus, and The Ring’s #1 rated jr. featherweight Toshiaki Nishioka in a blockbuster boxing showdown at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Cali. this weekend, it inspires and channels more than a few artistic parallels and depictions.
Donaire’s task is that of a “Shogun Assassin”. In this made for the big screen duel between two decorated Asian fighters to be featured on HBO, Donaire’s mission is to execute a legendary “shogun” in the Japanese Nishioka. Donaire’s samurai is his lethal left hand. View slideshow: Kamikaze Bomber Toshiaki Nishioka
? When I was little, my father was famous. He was the greatest Samurai in the empire, and he was the Shogun’s decapitator. He cut off the heads of 131 lords for the Shogun. It was a bad time for the empire. The Shogun just stayed inside his castle and he never came out. — Voice of Daigoro from the 1980 movie “Shogun Assassin”
Shogun Donaire Photo credit: dSource Art
Video: Behind the scenes with Nonito Donaire Jr. before a fight.
But Nishioka is far from a scared shogun. It was the Japanese champion who called out Donaire and beat the war drums for battle. Like many courageous Japanese fighters before him, Nishioka channels the “Kamikaze Bombers” of World War 2. The 36-year-old has said many times that he plans to go out in a blaze of glory against Donaire, whom he considers as the best fighter he will ever have to face. Nishioka has pushed hard for this fight to happen, and thanks to his perseverance and the help of some good fortune in the form of other champions refusing to fight Donaire, he has gotten his wish.
Nicknamed the “Speed King”, will Nishioka get to Donaire before crashing and burning? Some consider this a suicide mission for one of Japan’s true boxing legends, but Nishioka’s pride and heart of a champion simply wouldn’t want to finish his career any other way. As they say, he who is willing to die and sacrifice everything, is the most dangerous of all.
? The Kamikaze (神風?, literally: “God wind”; common translation: “Divine wind”) [kamikaꜜze] ( listen), official name: Tokubetsu Kōgekitai (特別攻撃隊?), Tokkō Tai (特攻隊?), or Tokkō (特攻?), were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy warships more effectively than was possible with conventional attacks. Numbers quoted vary, but at least 47 Allied vessels, from PT boats to escort carriers, were sunk by kamikaze attacks, and about 300 damaged. About 14% of kamikaze attacks managed to hit a ship. — From Wikipedia
So who’s it going to be? “The Shogun Assassin” or the “Kamikaze Bomber”? Check back soon for my detailed breakdown of this explosive match-up. — dzerz.
