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Philippines, 17 May 2024 |
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The Philippine Boxing Crown Prince By Epifanio M. Almeda PhilBoxing.com Sat, 08 Nov 2008  Manny Pacquiao, the pride of Philippine boxing who will be 30 years old next month, is seeing the end of his fighting days after two or three more fights. He might be forced by circumstances to fight some more. But eventually, age will have the final say and must be obeyed. Who could then fill in the void? I can see Nonito Donaire, Jr.?s figure more than the others?. Donaire (pronounced in the Philippines as ?Doo-Nigh-Ree?) has the IBF and IBO belts as a flyweight. He has defended his titles with TKOs over live contenders. While some boxing purists count only linear championships, it cannot be denied that Donaire won his title over the fearsome Vic Darchinyan, the man in the flyweight division at the time. The win was a big one as proven by Darchinyan?s recent mountain of a conquest of Christian Mijares. I joined with the many who thought Mijares would give Darchinyan a neat boxing lesson as he expertly did to Jorge Arce. Vic proved to be Chritian?s teacher that night. Vic is now the man at super-flyweight to which Fernando Montiel might voice some disagreement. Unable to have unification fights, Donaire has to move up to win some more championships. As has been proven, Nonito has it to wrest the super-flyweight titles from Vic and exercise reign in his second weight division. Despite the noticeable improvement in his defence, I can still see Nonito winning over Vic in a rematch should Vic find the courage to fight Nonito again. Vic?s promoter, Gary Shaw, would like to show that it is Nonito who needs Vic so that Nonito has to beg for the rematch. The fact is Vic has to avoid Nonito so that Vic?s efforts to regain his tarnished reputation would not be derailed. But unless Vic avenges his loss to Nonito who has announced his return to the 115-lb division, Vic?s claim to be the man at super-weight would be denied. After witnessing his explosive wins over Darchinyan and Luis Maldonado, Donaire has gained some semblance of a Pacquiao like following with Filipino fight fans eager to watch his recent fight with Moruti Mthalane. Donaire made us happy with his win although there were anxious moments in the fight that we thought he could have done more in defense and offense. His reported injury is an acceptable excuse. His father-trainer?s confession that Donaire?s performance was only 5 of 10 is disturbing. Donaire should strive to be fit and fully prepared in his fights if he is to acquire that admiration boxing fans confer on non-stop action fighters like Manny Pacquiao. Don?t get me wrong. Manny Pacquiao is Manny Pacquiao. Nobody can be another Manny Pacquiao. But somebody can step in his shoes and carry on his unprecedented habit of uniting Filipinos even for a brief moment when he fights and making them happy with his wins when Manny calls it a day. Nonito, ?the Filipino Flash?, has to keep on proving he deserves his ring monicker which, when announced, gives pride to Filipinos worldwide. Nonito fights intelligently and lands well timed thudding shots to the delight of his fans and dismay to his opponent. He can continue to score big wins if he is 10 of 10 or very close to it in every fight. Nonito Donaire, Jr. should be at the highest level of conditioning and preparation when he fights if he is to give justice to his looming as Manny?s heir apparent, as the Philippine boxing crown prince. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Epifanio M. Almeda.  |
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