?We could?ve done better? ? Robert Garcia, Donaire?s head trainer
Carson, California — Exiting the Home Depot Center, cramped inside his team van like sardines with his security crew, corner men, nutritionist Victor Conte and track and field coach Remy Korchemny, newly unified WBO & IBF super bantamweight champion Nonito ?The Filipino Flash? Donaire, Jr. asked, ?Are you guys happy with my performance??
Nonito Donaire Jr. Photo credit: Harry How – Getty images
Video: Robert Garcia post-fight interview with dSource and behind the scenes clips
Two things stood out in my mind at this point. One was how critical Donaire was of himself after his dominating victory. Two was how 12 full-sized grown men managed to fit and contort their bodies like pretzels in that vehicle. ?I?ll get a limo next time,? Donaire joked.
Donaire?s performance in his one-sided unanimous decision victory over Jeffrey Mathebula would?ve satisfied most boxers. He dropped a fighter that has never been down before in his career. He awed the crowd with his speed, slick punching, and ring showmanship in routing a fighter that?s never been clearly beaten before in his professional career. But the truth was clear and unsettling. Donaire knew what a lot of both his fans and critics were saying: He could?ve done much better.
His head corner man echoed the same statements after the fight. ?It was okay. We could?ve done better, but this is a process,? trainer Robert Garcia told this scribe after the fight in the locker room.
For starters, Donaire fell into his habit of loading up with his power punches while waiting to land them, instead of setting it up with his jab and combinations. When he did start utilizing it more in the 11th round, he was no match for Mathebula. As dominating as his performance looked, Donaire allowed Mathebula to stay in the fight by opting to neglect his fundamentals and relied on his athleticism more in throwing unorthodox punches, counters, and walking in on his opponent and taking a lot of punches (though powerless) in the process.
Donaire didn?t attack Mathebula?s body as much as many thought he should?ve, and definitely could?ve. It would’ve been to Donaire’s benefit had he tried to chop down Mathebula’s stringy body to either open him up or slow him down, or break his ribs altogether.
Despite his superior defense and ability, Donaire took too many shots to the face by trying to land his power punches. Compubox had Mathebula landing almost 100 more jabs and 80 more total punches, although Donaire did have a slight edge in power punches landed, 102-91. Still, these numbers tell a cautionary tale for a fighter of Donaire’s caliber and expectations.
But of course, hindsight is 50/50, and it’s definitely easier to talk from a chair, rather than be the man inside the ring taking all those punches. Donaire simply takes it as yet another learning experience as he aims to continue to improve and become the best boxer he can be. “As long as people we’re entertained, I’m happy, because that’s what I’m here for. I want to put on a show for the people, but I’ll definitely try to do much better next time,” Donaire told his entourage before heading down to celebrate with all of them at his after party. CLICK HERE for behind the scenes footages of Donaire vs. Mathebula and interview with Robert Garcia.
– dSG – ([email protected])
