“FIGHT CHICK” THINKS NONITO IS THE “ENTIRE PACKAGE”
Union City, NJ– Wimbledon, the World Cup, the Sarah Palin LeBron James one-hour non-special— boxing has had a lot of competition in the sports world in the past month, and the only real news story that has managed to permeate the mainstream from our world is the fact that our pound-for-pound best fighter has all but abandoned the sport for a career in politics. But under the radar lies the fact that Manny Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs) has a major challenge for the top title from a compatriot whose major career-ending victories have fallen comparatively under the radar: Nonito Donaire (24-1, 16 KOs).
DONAIRE IS A FIGHTER’S FIGHTER
He doesn’t make movies, he has never pretended to have a good singing voice, and he certainly doesn’t have anything remotely resembling a political career. He is simply a boxer— fighting is his passion and he devotes all his resources to that which he does best. And it has paid off in an extravagantly successful career against top opponents like Raul Martinez (27-1, 16 KOs), Rafael Concepcion (14-4-1, 8 KOs), and the biggest feather in his cap, Vic Darchinyan (35-2-1, 27 KOs).
REMEMBER VIC DARCHINYAN? DONAIRE STOPPED HIM COLD
Three years ago, Darchinyan was the biggest name in his division, and managed to break through the popularity gap between tiny bantamweights like himself and the welters and, at some point in history, heavyweights that typically dominate the sport’s culture. He was big, and only growing, using his extremely unique style to climb over the the bodies of Jorge Arce (54-6-1, 41 KOs), Victor Burgos (39-15-3, 23 KOs), and Nonito’s older brother, Glenn Donaire (17-4-1, 9 KOs). Nonito swiftly ended this meteoric rise in what has so far appeared to be permanent fashion. True, Darchinyan still holds a couple of major belts, and Nonito Donaire has moved far and beyond this three-year-old tale. But it is worth repeating because it shows the magnitude of his achievements—to put a rising star permanently under commission— and, next to someone like Pacquiao, who made a career of fighting people who should have retired a long time ago, shines even brighter.
MARQUEZ ONLY HAD A CHANCE WHEN DONAIRE WAS FIGHTING SOUTHPAW
If you needed proof in 2010 that Donaire is still technically one of, if not the most, dominant figure in boxing, look no further than his battle with Hernan Marquez (27-0, 20 KOs) last night on Showtime. Marquez, with a respectable record for a 21-year-old, did some significant damage on the cards in the first few rounds, and if you thought the fight was unnaturally close for a while, you’re right: Donaire was fighting as a southpaw. As soon as he went back to his natural stance, Marquez was on the canvas, but got up to make it a fight until the eighth round, when the referee stopped the fight.
WHY DON’T FANS LIKE THE LITTLE GUYS (AND GIRLS)?
There aren’t really many people in his division against which Donaire still has to prove himself; it’s clear he is one of, if not the best, at what he does and where he does it. And, truly, this victory is only the cherry on top of a long, fruitful career that hasn’t made front pages based solely on the long-time arbitrary distaste boxing fans seem to have for the lower weight classes. While certain extremely unimpressive heavyweights (ahem, all of them) continue to make it to the top of the boxing publicity game with not one thriller to their name, smaller men like Donaire are the victims of the simple fact that boxing fans randomly don’t care about them. It’s time to give credit where credit is due on this one, and put Donaire on the fast track to a superstardom that has eluded him for no other reason than that fans and the media haven’t wanted to give him what’s rightfully his.