Moments ago at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, Nonito Donaire made a successful jump to the bantamweight division by blowing out former world champion Wladimir Sidorenko in four rounds. It was a dominant and classy performance from Donaire, who showed his trademark quickness and explosive nature.
Donaire came out cautiously in the first round but soon began tagging his Ukrainian opponent at will. Sidorenko’s face was becoming a bloody mess and a right hand would drop him to the matt. The 34-year old would rise valiantly but appeared to be in serious trouble just as the round ended.
Sidorenko was painfully slow compared to Donaire but managed to land a few blows in the second round. Still, Donaire was calm an collected, darting in and out as he pleased. Donaire began to showboat a bit in the third round and Sidorenko seemed at a loss as how to attack his unorthodox foe. A sweeping land hand would again floor Wladimir in the third.
Donaire finished matters in the fourth round as he began to unload on Sidorenko against the ropes. An apparent right hand to the body would force the third knockdown of the fight and the referee waived the contest off before counting to ten. It was a very big victory for Donaire and clears the way for a February 19th showdown with Fernando Montiel, a clash that will likely end up at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Donaire spoke briefly in his dressing room following the victory and admitted that he let his defense slip and ate a few more punches than he should. He was extremely plesaed with his performance but noted that he had hurt his hand during the contest. The injury doesn’t appear to be severe enough to derail a potential Montiel clash and this was a definite high for Donaire. The sky is the limit for him in 2011.
