Saturday night at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, Nonito Donaire (31-1, 20 KOs) successfully defended his WBO bantamweight title by stopping Jorge Arce (61-7-2, 46 KOs) at 2:59 of round three.
Fighting out of the red corner in red trucks with blue trim, Donaire made short work of the the former four-division champion.
Arce, fighting out of the blue corner in white trunks trimmed with blue, was a serious underdog going in. It was thought that the fight would be less a fight than a formality, especially since the two men are friends, and that?s exactly what it was.
Donaire is taller, younger, faster and stronger than Arce, and he put those advantages to good use.
Round one was a feeling out round. Donaire kept Arce at the end of his jab. Arce couldn?t, or perhaps wouldn?t, close the distance between him and Nonito, which made it an easy 10-9 for the Filipino Flash.
Donaire started using both hands in round two. Arce?s inability to cut off the ring left him with no option but to follow the champ. A quick right dropped Arce. He objected to the ref?s call, but his objection was overruled and the fight resumed with Arce getting nailed at the bell.
Arce was busier in round three. He was crowding Donaire, bringing his fight to Donaire with some success. But of by opening up, Arce left himself open to Nonito?s counters. Donaire landed again and Arce went down again. He beat the count, and this time there were no objections. Maybe there was no time to object as Donaire caught and dropped Arce again. Referee Lawrence Cole waved it off and that was that.
After the fight, the media savvy Donaire said, ?I went out there and just pretty much timed him. We knew that he would open up. He was a tough guy. He actually got me in the body. I didn?t expect him to do that. He was pretty difficult, but I caught him with a short right hand coming in and a counter hook coming in.
?Arce?s a great friend of mine. We knew what we were up against. But we wanted to see the distance, and that?s what we agreed to do was to figure out the distance and slow him down to think he has a chance to get in there and open up.
?There were a lot of fans who were, ?You gotta do this. You gotta do this. You gotta do this. You gotta do this. This is for the Philippines.? And it?s true. But I love Mexico as well. Mexican fighters are tough and I have the best respect for all of them. My friend here, Robert Garcia, is Mexican, so I?m hoping they can be proud of what I?ve done tonight.?
Arce was less talkative but no less precise.
?My career is over,? he said. ?I?m leaving after the best man. I have a family to take care of, my children, and I promised them if I lost I would leave, I would quit. I lost?and I?m a gentleman. He?s very good. I thought I could have done a better job, but the man who has the power can finish the job at any moment.
?I?m proud to have lost against the best, the better man. It fills me with lots of honor. Thankfully I?ve taken care of everything I earned?thankfully so. I go home now, I retire to watch TV, and also not to retire from the world of boxing, because I?ll be an announcer. But I?d rather watch the fights on TV.?
If Top Rank and Golden Boy can put aside their differences, for nothing less than the good of boxing, we like to see Nonito fight Abner Mares.
