BJ Penn and Nonito Donaire jr. are two of fight sports’ biggest little men. Other than having big fights this August, both also share another thing in common and that’s their admiration for each other’s skills.
The popular Penn not too long ago was considered one of the best if not the best pound-for-pound mixed martial artists in the business. He is one of the most dominant lightweight champions in UFC history and is as skilled as they come.
Donaire on the other hand is slowly rising in the ranks of boxing’s best pound-forpound fighters in the world. He is currently ranked number seven in The Ring magazine’s P4P rankings.
In a video I posted below, Penn shows his love for “The Filipino Flash” as he watched Donaire knock Darchinyan out in classing 2007 bout. Penn admires and appreciates Donaire’s counter-punching skills and knockout power. On the other hand, Donaire is pulling for Penn in his upcoming match-up against Kenny Florian on August 8 in Philadelphia. Donaire has been a fan of the UFC and has seen a lot of the big fights.
This is a great example of how both MMA and boxing can coexist without having to take anything from the other. Shame on those who think lowly of MMA, perhaps they are clueless about the rigors and disciplines required in training and learning the craft just to become even a competitive pro. Those on the other hand that label boxing as boring and a dying sport are also lost and need some guidance.
In my recent west coast trip, I was fortunate enough to catch a little of both MMA and boxing live and I must say, each offers a different kind of rush from a fan’s standpoint. It’s unfortunate a lot of people are caught up with the whole MMA and boxing rivalry thing. To me it’s really childish and reminds me of the East coast-West coast rap feud back in the day. Looking back at it now, don’t all of that hate and hype sound so dumb now? I’m sure the same thing will happen with MMA and boxing down the road.
Check out BJ Penn’s video below and Nonito Donaire’s most recent blog entry discussing his recent trip to Sacramento where he and his team was invited to be guests of honor in a Sacramento Monarchs WNBA game.
