Trailing on two of the three judges? scorecards after eight rounds, Donaire pulled a rabbit from the hat and TKO?d Vic Darchinyan at 2:06 of the ninth?.
Saturday night at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, Nonito Donaire (32-2, 21 KOs), trailing by 78-74 on two of the three judges? scorecards, pulled a rabbit from the hat and TKO?d Vic Darchinyan (39-6-1, 28 KOs) at 2:06 of round nine.
Fighting out of the red corner in red trunks trimmed in gold, Donaire seemed reluctant to his hands go. He may have been suffering residual effects from his loss to Guillermo Rigondeaux seven months ago, but he was cautious, tentative, gun-shy, unwilling to mix it up.
Darchinyan, fighting out of the blue corner in red trunks with black trim, was determined to box rather than slug. He hadn?t forgotten what happened in the first fight with Donaire six years earlier and was determined to avoid a repeat. As a result, a chess match ensued, a chess match between two knockout artists.
The first round established the tone for much of what was to come. Two minutes passed before a meaningful punch was thrown. The crowd, who expectations were already being denied, sat in stunned silence. Nonito landed a body shot. He landed a jab. He was being patient, too patient, a patience echoed by Darchinyan. In the last 15 seconds Vic landed a few punches to steal the round. According to CompuBox, Nonito landed 9 of 22 to 5 of 21 for Darchinyan.
Round two was much like the first. It was a technical fight, a tactical fight, with both fighters trying to feint the other. Punches were thrown. Some punches landed. Donaire caught Darchinyan with a solid hook, followed by a hard right that backed Vic up. Darchinyan landed two straight lefts, the second of which hurt Donaire. The Raging Bull landed another left at the bell to take the round by a hair.
Again, according to CompuBox, Donaire landed 11 of 32 to Darchinyan?s 6 of 26. If those numbers were correct, they didn?t and don?t take effective punching into account, let alone something imprecise but tangible like ring generalship, which gave Vic the edge after two.
Round three was a carbon copy of what preceded it. Donaire was slow. He wasn?t flurrying. He wasn?t throwing combinations. A single punch here and there was the sum total of his output. Darchinyan wasn?t much busier, but he was dictating the pace and controlling the action, such as it was. A nice left hook by Nonito at the bell may have won him the round, but then again, it was close and maybe not.
Things heated up somewhat in the fourth, in part because Donaire began to fight. Both fighters traded and landed hard shots. Their output was still minimal, with Donaire landing 7 of 31 and Darchinyan landing 7 of 38, but Nonito?s punches did the most damage, finally enabling him to decisively in a round.
Between rounds Darchinyan?s corner told him, ?Don?t let him get on your nerves. Be smart. Bring him into the fight.?
Darchinyan opened round five with a straight left to Donaire?s face, followed by a left to the body. Donaire was doing nothing but fighting defensively. He wouldn?t or couldn?t get off first. His strategy, if it was a strategy and not a fallback position, was to counter Darchinyan. But it wasn?t working. Darchinyan was slipping punches and unloading on Donaire at the bell. Nonito landed all of 5 punches. Vic landed 8.
The lackluster pace continued in round six. Darchinyan started things off with a left, followed by another left, while Nonito seemed reluctant to engage. He delivered a quick combination. Vic countered with a straight left, a right hook to the head, and another right hook to the body. Donaire landed a big right just before the bell to end the round, but it wasn?t enough. Darchinyan won another round, even though Donaire supposedly outlanded him 8 punches to 5.
Donaire?s corner was starting to panic. Both his no-longer-estranged father and longtime trainer, Robert Garcia, were talking over one another. ?Go to the body. Throw body shots,? one of them said. ?You?re going to do it!?
Going into the seventh, we had it 4 rounds to 2 for Darchinyan. HBO?s Steve Weisfeld had it even, but perhaps the cheerleading within earshot affected his score. Darchinyan landed a straight right. Donaire countered with a left hook. Darchinyan returned the favor by landing another left. Nonito continued to fight without passion. He was flat-footed. He?d throw a single shot and cover up. Darchinyan won round seven. Donaire continued to disappoint. He threw 21 punches and landed 5. Darchinyan threw 35 punches, but also landed only 5.
Between rounds Robert Garcia upbraided Donaire. ?Get busy,? he said. ?You have to throw two, three punches, more of them. You have to do it.?
Donaire?s nose began to bleed in round eight. It wasn?t the altitude; it was Darchinyan?s attitude, best expressed by a straight left that could not miss. He?d thrown it plenty of times, relatively speaking. There was nothing fancy about the punch. But it landed and landed, again and again. Nonito would occasionally counter with a punch of his own. He just seemed unable to avoid a gloved fist that must have had his name on it.
Darchinyan?s cornerman was mighty pleased with the way things were going. ?Stay smart,? he said. ?Stay here. Whatever you?re doing, it?s great.?
Across the ring, Donaire?s corner told another story. ?You?ve got to do more,? implored Robert Garcia. ?Don?t give this away. You have to pick it up in the next two rounds.?
It might have been Garcia?s plea that time was running out. It might have been that Donaire had grown tired of getting hit in the face. Whatever it was, he finally snapped out of it in round nine. Nonito landed a big left hook, his money punch, a minute in. A right followed, with another big hook thrown in for good measure. Darchinyan went down hard. He scrambled to his feet without waiting for the count and stumbled around the ring like a drunken sailor. Donaire connected with a right and another left. Vic had no legs and retreated to the corner. He was out on his feet absorbing punches when referee Laurence Cole stepped in to wave it off at 2:06.
After the fight Donaire said, ?I tried to work on a different style, which was going back. And the funny thing is it was hard for me to go back. I wanted to fight. And they kept telling me, ?Box, box, be smart,? but part of my body still memorized the fighting style, which worked in the end anyway.?
When Max Kellerman brought up the loss at Radio City, Donaire explained, ?I tried to work hard every day to get back. It didn?t really affect me. It?s more, how can I get better? It was hard for me to be better when part of you still wants to do something different. But to be honest, when he hit me on my cheek I felt like he broke my cheek, so a part of my mind was like, ?Is this is for me? Is this it for me? I?m losing the fight. Should I keep going?? But I put my heart into it and you know that I will never ever quit.?
Kellerman asked Donaire who he wants to fight next.
?You know what?? he said. ?I?m gonna go with your boy. How about that??
?Rigondeaux??
?That?s your boy, baby. That?s what I want.?
Nonito needs to be careful. Darchinyan fought a disciplined fight, but he?s no Guillermo Rignondeaux. Now that Rigo is champ, having taken Nonito?s titles, he?s even a better fighter now that he was seven months ago. Donaire did what he needed to do Saturday night. He stopped the Raging Bull. But he didn?t look great doing it.
