Everybody knows and loves Manny Pacquiao as the first class and top ranked boxer of the Philippines and perhaps throughout the entire world. He is not alone in representing his homeland, as the list of other great active fighters from the small Asian island includes Brian Viloria and Gerry Penalosa.
Cue Nonito Donaire, 18-1, 11 KO’s. Donaire has made his mark recently and emphatically with a creative destruction of the popular Vic Darchinyan. Darchinyan entered the fight with Donaire as a heavy favorite and a highly touted action puncher showcased plenty of times on Showtime Championship Boxing. While powerful, skilled and high energy, Darchinyan has several fundamental flaws as a fighter that Donaire was able to exploit to the fullest. The southpaw keeps his right and front hand low and wings hooks at his opponents. Donaire took note of that fact and planned for it. He could have come out of the gate and started swinging his left hand from his natural orthodox position but had Darchinyan caught on to that, the fight plan would have gone down the drain. Rather, Donaire decided to start the match by throwing unexpected right handed openers and landing them at will.
Even so, the fight started off close and was considered a majority draw by Showtime’s press row in the final moments leading up to the ending. Donaire began to take note that Darchinyan was swinging wildly in 1-2 hook formation and moving his feet forward as he finished the combos. Donaire simply had to time the wildly swung lead right and begin mixing in the left hook before Darchinyan could land the follow up shot. Moving slightly backward and to his left for better support, he did just that and sent Darchinyan to the mat with a left hook that was very nicely mixed in to his punch selection.
The shot crippled Darchinyan and set him down for the count, only to stand for a moment before tumbling into the ropes in what looked like a drunken state. That picture perfect moment, and the credibility that came with it, is what made Donaire into a star in the last several weeks.
There were signs on Donaire’s resume that he was a tough fighter. Many times, a good record will be padded by the defeat of poor fighters in venues overseas. It will also show that the fighter has lot his important bouts while winning those that held nothing on the line. The perfect example of that background is that of Lovemore N’dou. Donaire’s resume features a different twist. All but three of Donaire’s fights have been in side of the US and most have been in places where boxing is still popular. His only loss came by way of five round unanimous decision in his only his second pro bout at the age of 18 years old. His first big win came against Ilido Julio in late 2005, an 8 round unanimous decision. While that fight was the beginning of Ilido’s slide as a great fighter, he was stiff competition and the match took place with plenty of publicity at Caesar’s Tahoe in Stateline, Nevada.
After a warm up bout, Donaire took on Oscar Andrade in what was the biggest fight of his career to that point. While Donaire was again the beginning of the end for the fighter, Donaire still boxed well to a unanimous decision at a venue that sits at the top of boxing venue fame and fortune at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada.
On the flipside of his success with elite fighters, Donaire has ensured emphatic and resounding victory against the chumps that he has been supposed to destroy, taking care of business with easy knockouts in 9 of his 11 knockouts. That sort of resume, combined with the padded record of Vic Darchinyan, might have led to some lucky gamblers picking up on the upset. The payoff would have been huge in both monetary value and drunken bragging rights at the bars in Bridgeport following the fight.
Requiring even more clairvoyance is to predict the future of Donaire from this point forward. The flyweight division is not exactly stocked with great fighters from top to bottom. Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, Takefumi Sakata, Omar Andres Narvaez hold the other three belts of the division. Wonjongkam hardly ever fights bouts that are of any substance, knocking out mostly tin cans and refusing to leave Asia for the big American bucks. It is a shame that he is now over the age of 30 and the American fight fans have missed his prime, making it almost impossible to compare him in the big scheme in spite of an absurd record of 65-2, 35 KO’s. Sakata is a tough and fearless fighter that might be willing too take on Donaire but he also has unfinished business with Roberto Vasquez, having lost by split decision and won by unanimous decision in past bouts with him. Narvaez is a veteran undefeated with a similar record to Donaire, having gone 24-0, 11 KO’s. He would be a worthy opponent for Donaire and the fight would likely provide plenty of fire works.
After that it’s slim pickings in the division. The next tier of flyweights includes the aforementioned Vasquez, Darchinyan himself, and Daisuke Naito. All three of those names have been defeated by the championship lineage of the division, with Naito’s loss coming against Wonjongkam. Following those names are several talented and undefeated young fighters that have not yet made a name for themselves and have not fought outside of Asia.
Should Donaire move up to Super Flyweight, there are certainly more fights for him with larger capital. Sitting as the best Super Flyweight in the world is another powerful southpaw in Cristian Mijares. The division also includes big money names with the popular Jorge Arce, Fernando Montiel, Martin Castillo, and the tough and talented Jose Navarro.
So the question remains one of whether or not Donaire can make a large name for himself and a great sensation of his career over the next couple of years. At only 24 years old, he still has plenty of prime years left in his career and would match up well with most world fighters. There are still flaws in his boxing abilities, as he keeps his lands a little too low for the taste of most trainers.
However, Donaire is a smart, exciting, well spoken fighter with an ability that is in a class with almost all of the fighters of which he is within striking distance. He now has a dramatic story for his rise to the top, highlight reel knockout vengeance against a popular, powerful, somewhat protected fighter that broke the jaw of his own brother Glenn Donaire. That momentum should carry him, even through a tune up bout, to bigger and better scraps against meaner and more dedicated opponents.
Whether of not Nonito Donaire wins up being as sensational and famous as the Filipino fighters before him remains to be seen. What is known is that he is going to be something great and that he has at least five years of youthful, action packed fights.
