Being a 7-1 under dog coming into his fight against Vic Darchinyan(28-0 24ko at the time), and basically unknown to the boxing world, The Filipino Flash did the unexpected and knocked out the man most in the division feared. The thing Nonito Donaire(17-1 10ko at the time) might have been known for the most might of been being the little brother of Glenn Donaire who Darchinyan defeated on a technical decision in the 6th round of their 2006 fight in Las Vegas, NV. Darchinyan broke Glenn Donaire’s jaw with an elbow that was later ruled an accidental head butt by referee Tony Weeks. Most thought Nonito was the desperate little brother dying to get revenge on Darchinyan. And the same people that thought that, thought he didn’t stand a chance.
Darchinyan had an outstanding record, and a lot of punching power, and that showed in his knockout ratio. But he might of been recognized mostly for his arrogance and ability to speak highly of himself. But none of that seemed to bother Nonito, if anything it might have motivated him. At a time when Vic was undefeated and looked unbeatable, and seemed to be very feared amongst his peers, Nonito was itching at the oppurtunity not only to avenge his brother’s loss, but also to prove himself as a man to be reckon with. It was by far the biggest fight of Nonito’s career, as where it looked like Donaire might of just been another stepping stone towards the top for Darchinyan.
Stepping stone? That wasn’t the case at all. If anything, Darchiyan ended up being the stepping stone to the top for Donaire… Or was he? The Vic Darchiyan fight might have been the worst thing to happen to Nonito Donaire. Because every since then, he has not been able to lure any big name fighters into the ring with him. Who wants to fight the man that slayed the dragon? Apparently there isn’t a long line waiting to fight Donaire. At the time, Darchiyan was knocking anybody and everybody out it seemed, with the exception of Donaire. Maybe that explains why nobody wants to fight The Filipino Flash?
Nonito has tremendous boxing ability, with knockout power in both hands, to go with his superior athleticism. Who would want to fight a guy with such attributes? It seems nobody does. Nonito stated in an interview that he gave to officialscorecard.com that he is willing to fight anybody that calls him out. It’s too bad that not all fighters feel this way. There are some big names on his wish list, for whatever reason, those fighters are not meeting him half way on an agreement to get a deal done. Maybe the main reason is the way he dominated the undefeated champion Vic Darchinyan? Or maybe that was the stage big enough for the whole boxing world to see the talents that The Filipino Flash possesed? It is really sad to think because you knocked out the biggest challenger of your career that you cannot get a big fight…
Nobody expected Nonito Donaire to win his fight against Vic Darchiyan in 2007 with the exception of Nonito Donaire himself and the people in his camp. He pulled off the unthinkable, he beat the odds, literally. But for that he should have been rewarded, but in reality, it seems he is being punished for the greatest achievement of his professional boxing career. The truth is, Donaire is willing to challenge himself againt the best, but it seems the best are not willing to challenge themselves against him.
