In many respects, what Omar Narvaez of Argentina did (or better still, did not do) in his much-hyped bout with Nonito Donaire for the latter?s WBC and WBO bantamweight title before 4,425 boxing fans at the Madison Square Garden Theater and sports aficionados all over the world was a travesty not only of boxing but also of sport in general.
Narvaez who was described by Top Rank?s Todd deBoef as ?a pressure fighter who will come to Nonito and you couldn?t ask for anything else?he will put pressure on Donaire and be there all night?, was anything but a pressure fighter last Saturday night (Sunday morning in the Philippines) as he decided to put a defensive wall between him and Donaire. DeBoef had even added that, ?We (Top Rank) felt that from a television and fan point of view, this could be a very crowd pleasing fight.? The crowd, impatient with Narvaez?s tactics, started booing and hissing as early as the third round with the ?enraged voices of individual audience members (becoming) much more interesting than the actual fight,? according to Karl Greenberg in his blog in The Queensberry Rules entitled, ?Nonito Donaire vs Omar Narvaez Does it Again: A Stinker of a Main Event.?
It was clear that Narvaez did not come to fight but rather to survive and claim what was probably his biggest paycheck of US$250,000 in his 11-year boxing career.
Like the three judges, I scored the fight for Donaire, 120-108. I was scoring the fight and noting down round-by-round highlights. From the fifth round onward however, my notes were dotted with ditto marks to indicate that except for some brief moments when Donaire penetrated Narvaez?s ?Hurricane wall?, the next rounds were no different from the earlier boring ones: Narvaez fighting peek-a-boo and Donaire throwing, according to Compubox, 666 punches, of which 99 or 15 percent landed. Narvaez, on the other hand, threw 299 (of which 74 landed) or about 25 punches a round vs the bantam average of 60, according to ESPN?s Dan Rafael.
At the end of the fight, Donaire said, ?It was very frustrating. The fans didn?t deserve this. My first time on the East Coast, Madison Square Garden. I apologize deeply for this. I wanted a knockout. It happens. He (Narvaez) was definitely disappointing. Rafael wrote, ?It was bad. So bad that, besides the booing from the crowd at various times throughout the fight, Donaire told trainer Robert Garcia while on the stool after the 11th round, ?Im bored.??
Some boxing pundits were so upset with Narvaez that they even suggested that, as an act of contrition, Narvaez should turn over some of his purse to the fans to reimburse them for the expenses they incurred, some coming all the way from the Philippines, Canada and Argentina. One disgruntled viewer exclaimed that Narvaez?s purse should be withheld and he be penalized for losing deliberately and maliciously.
Surprisingly, after the fight, Narvaez rode on one of his corner men?s shoulders to claim victory completely ignoring his outrageous behavior. Even more surprising was his comment (Rafael called it an insult) that ?he (Donaire) never hurt me. I didn?t feel his punches. I didn?t think he was that big of a deal.? Narvaez can say whatever he wants to say and even pretend that he gave a good account of himself but I doubt if any serious matchmaker and promoter would want Narvaez in any promotion after last Saturday?s stinker.
Narvaez?s fellow Argentines who are used to the courage of great fighters like Pascual Perez, Carlos Monzon, Oscar Bonavena, Victor Galindez and Sergio Martinez may not want to have anything to do with him for his cowardly performance and his asinine post-fight comments.
Condemnation of Narvaez was universal and, understandingly, harsh. Calling the fight a non-event, Greenberg shares his notes of the fight: ?Round seven and the audience loves the round-card girl who is utterly stunning?; ?Narvaez is a punching bag?this isn?t even a sparring session. Christ, it would have been more interesting to see Donaire hitting the mitts with Robert Garcia than this. It would even be more interesting to watch Narvaez dance (the Argentine) tango with the round card girl?; ?the reporter next to me from Japan has tuned into the Cardinals on streaming video. The man is watching baseball, that?s how boring this fight is?; ?finally, round 11 and everyone wants to go home. Someone just shouted, ?Omar, you suck??.
After the final round, Rafael says that Donaire leaned over to HBO announcer Roy Jones and said, ?This was bull_ _ _ t.?
