Saturday night at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, ?The Filipino Flash? Nonito Donaire made his return to the ring to defend his WBA Super world featherweight title against the unbeaten Jamaican power puncher, Nicholas ?Axe Man? Walters. Coming off of two stoppage wins, Donaire looked to regain his status as one of the top fighters in the sport. Despite Donaire?s past accomplishments, he walked in as the underdog to the fast rising Walters.
From the opening bell, Nicholas Walters moved forward, pressing the action. Both fighters were working their jabs. Donaire was circling away from Walters and looking to land his left hook to the body. An even feel out round but Walters was the more active of the two.
In the second round, Donaire showed signs of the sharpness that he possessed when he ruled the flyweight and bantamweight divisions, countering with sharp shots and showing off his speed. In the closing stages of the round, Nonito Donaire caught Walters with some heavy shots that stunned the Jamaican fighter. The closing bell saved ?Axe Man? from receiving any more punishment.
?The Filipino Flash? walked into round three confidently, having shown that he had the power to stun the younger Walters. Donaire continued to land clean effective right crosses and hooks, but in an instant the fight took a turn. During an exchange in close quarters, Nicholas Walters landed a crushing right uppercut which sent Donaire to his knees. Nonito made the count and was very careful not to get hit by another power shot for the remaining seconds of the round.
Both fighters had shown they had the power to change the fight with one punch, and both were weary of that. In round four, both men were slightly tentative and didn?t open up as much as in the previous two rounds. It was a close round to score, as neither man landed anything of significance.
After seeming to take the fourth round off, both Donaire and Walters got back to work in the fifth. There was a lot of inside fighting, both landing and receiving but the size edge of Nicholas Walters appeared to be wearing on Nonito.
The action continued into the sixth round. Donaire?s face was showing damage from the earlier exchanges. The end came suddenly as Walters timed Donaire and landed a devastating right hand shot to the side of his head. Donaire fell face forward on the canvas and looked in rough shape. He managed to get up before the ten-count, but the referee deemed he was in no condition to continue and waived the fight off. Nicholas Walters KO 6.
With the win, Nicholas Walters moves to 25-0 with 21 KO?s.
Following the bout HBO?s Max Kellerman interviewed Donaire and got his views on what happened.
Donaire said: ?I?m getting older but I?m not gonna take anything from Walters. I was at my best, I?ve never trained this hard.?
?He came out as tough as I thought he would be and just the size that he had over me ? I couldn?t move. He overwhelmed me and knocked the shit out of me.?
When asked about his future, Donaire said: ?I gotta go back to the drawing board, I know that i can?t compete with guys like Walters, he?s just amazing. He was just overwhelming inside the ring. No matter what I did, I just succumbed to his size, his power and his overwhelming aura in the ring.?
?We?re looking at it. We?ll decide. I came out here with a great champion, I never back down from any champ.?
After such a devastating knockout loss for Donaire, one has to wonder what direction he goes next, but it seems after recent tough fights at 126lbs and the size difference he faced against Walters, that a move back to 122lb might be his best course of action. WBA super champion Nicholas Walters on the other hand seems to be a fighter with breakout star potential, as he has a fan friendly style and punching power that will make him a very dangerous foe for anyone near the weight class.
The HBO boxing co-main event marked an interesting turn in the battle of the networks, and fight fans can only be hopeful that more fights like this appear on the network as it was a fun exiting fight, something this sport can never have enough of.
