Nonito Donaire Demolishes Fernando Montiel; Makes Claim as Boxing’s Heir Apparent

Added on Feb 21, 2011 by Brian Blake in

Boxing

When it comes to boxing, Manny Pacquiao has been carrying the Philippines on his back as he’s dominated fight after fight. On Saturday night “The Filipino Flash” showed the world that the nation might actually have the two best fighters in the world today as he scored a spectacular second round TKO over Mexico’s Fernando Montiel (44-3-3, 34 KOs).

Heading into the highly anticipated showdown, many boxing fans as well as members of the media had both Montiel and Donaire included in their top ten pound for pound lists. Each fighter is known to be highly skilled along with their heavy hands. With the recent unification bout between Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander not quite living up to the hype, all eyes were focused on Montiel and Donaire to provide them with a proper start to what is shaping up to be a major year for the sport of boxing.

As the bell sounded to kick of the scheduled 12 round championship tilt, Donaire took control of what ringside analyst Max Kellerman properly referred to as a high speed chess match. He outboxed Montiel from the outside for the opening three minutes. As Montiel decided to mix it up a bit more in the second stanza Donaire proved he was more than willing to play that game too.

With just under a minute left in the round Montiel landed a right hook to the head of Donaire which was immediately countered by a devastating left hand that Montiel never saw coming. The shot sent the champion crashing to the canvas and for a brief moment had Montiel’s body in a spasmodic state. As referee Russell Mora reached the count of seven the Los Mochis native went down again but somehow managed to beat the count of ten. Clearly still dazed, Montiel was granted the opportunity to continue fighting. It was all for naught and served as a ten second break in between Donaire’s victory celebrations as the Bay Area resident wasted no time in pouncing on the wounded Montiel landing a follow up shot prompting an immediate stoppage by the ref.

With the win Donaire, once again, became a world champion as he claimed the WBC and WBO that Montiel carried in with him prior to the bout. Donaire has now claimed championships in the flyweight, super flyweight and bantamweight divisions. During the post fight interview Donaire expressed interest in future bouts in the junior featherweight and featherweight division, but stated that his ultimate desire is to become the undisputed champion of the bantamweights.

In mid-April Showtime Sports will conclude their bantamweight tournament when Joseph “King Kong” Agbeko takes on youngster Abner Mares for the division’s IBF crown. Taking on the winner of that fight seems to be an obvious answer to who Donaire should fight next. If it goes down you’ll have two fighters that have had some serious momentum with big televised wins and potentially three belts on the line to make it even more intriguing for everyone involved.

For some time now I’ve been wondering why Bob Arum and the other folks at Top Rank, Donaire’s promoter, haven’t had Donaire participate on the same events as his countryman, Manny Pacquiao. To me, it’s a no brainer. You have two elite and exciting fighters from the Philippines, so why not use the fame that Pacquiao possesses to help Donaire reach the masses in an easier fashion?

Regardless, Donaire seems to be doing a fine job on his own in terms of attracting fans. His humble attitude, high ring IQ along with his lethal hands have the pint size Pinoy pugilist on his way to becoming the next major thing in boxing.

At the age of 33, Pacquiao isn’t old by any stretch of the imagination, but as evidence by his decision to enter the political arena he’s starting to think about life and a career outside of the ring. With the exception of a showdown with Floyd Mayweather or another bout with Juan Manuel Marquez there aren’t a lot of challenges left for a fighter that certainly doesn’t have anything to prove. A year ago Pacquiao’s departure would have possibly been crippling to the sport and when it eventually happens will still create a large void.

Even so, Donaire proved on Saturday that he’s more than capable of carrying not just the Philippines but also the sport of boxing on his back.