DONAIRE CONTINUES JOURNEY TO REDEMPTION WITH SMASHING 2ND ROUND TKO VICTORY
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 19 Jul 2015
Macau, July 18 -- Nonito "The Filipino Flash" Donaire continued his journey to redemption with a smashing 2nd round TKO of former European bantamweight champion Anthony Settoul whom he dropped three times en route to a defining victory that is destined to set-up a mouth-watering showdown with WBA champion Scott Quigg of Britain who mauled former world champion Kiko Martinez in similar fashion to win by a 2nd round TKO.
Donaire, the five division world champion who suffered a crushing 6th round stoppage at the hands of the bigger and stronger Jamaican, Nicholas "The Axe Man" Walters, set about recovering the lost glory of being named "Fighter of the Year" in 2012 and surging to the No.5 spot in the prestigious Ring Magazine rankings with a second round knockout over Brazilian William Prado before upping the overall quality of his efforts with the win over the lanky Settoul whose height and reach advantage was quickly negated by the speed snd power of a confident Donaire.
A vicious counter body shot dropped Settoul in the opening round before another cracking shot to the body seconds before the end of the round sent the Frenchman down once again.
Unlike in the past when he threw caution to the wind and went after his opponent looking for a knockout, this time around Donaire stuck to the game-plan his father/trainer worked out during training at the famed ALA Gym in Cebu where he also benefited with some excellent sparring against promising prospects Mark "Magnifico" Magsayo and Prince Albert Pagara, two undefeated fighters on the crest of international recognition.
A confident but methodical Donaire didn't rush in to finish off Settoul but merely bided his time and picked his moments before connecting with a perfectly timed uppercut that sent Settoul crashing to the canvas and as referee Danrex Tapdasan began to count, his cornermen sent a towel flying into the ring to signal surrender at 1:41 of the second round.
Father/trainer "Dodong" Donaire was ecstatic over Nonito's performance telling the New Standard/boxingmirror.com that "he was strong and for the first time followed all the instructions."
Having worked together in training camp most of the time Donaire Sr said "he knew what he had to do. Be smart and throw body shots and counter right hands" even as he made it clear Nonito "can't live on the left hook alone because all his opponents guard against that" which is the punch that Nonito Donaire used to near perfection in his magnificent run when he beat Wilfredo Vazquez Jr, IBF champion Jeffrey Mathebula, WBC super champion Toshiaki Nishoka and Mexican warrior Jorge "Travieso" Arce.
"Dodong" Donaire told his son, "you are strong in both hands so why don't we use them both."
At the moment Donaire's father/trainer believes Nonito is "90 percent of where he wants to be. The movement was there, being smart inside the ring was there. He is truly very talented."
Looking ahead at a possible title fight against Quigg who demolished Mexican Kiko Martinez some hours after Donaire ripped Settoul, "Dodong" Donaire claimed "Quigg is a much easier opponent because he moves forward and Nonito is much stronger. It's going to be a good fight but it won't last more than six rounds especially now that Nonito realizes he must hit his opponent and not get hit."
"Dodong" Donaire was profuse in his gratitude to renowned boxing patron Tony Aldeguer for allowing them to use all the facilities of the ALA Gym in Cebu and providing excellent sparring partners in "Magnifico" Magsayo, Prince Albert Pagara and Bernaldez "who gave Nonito quality sparring."
Nonito Donaire himself told us "I am satisfied because I followed the game plan. Usually if I hurt an opponent I'm like a wild animal, I batter him right away but this time I was patient and realized that I needed to study his movements and his style and when I saw the opening that's when I caught him with the right hand. I'm happy because I followed my father's game-plan which was not to be tense, be smart, look at the timing and the opportunity then take him, but be smart."
He stressed that he now has "an arsenal of punches not just the left hook. I need to use all I have including the right hand and the body shots."
Donaire said "felt a little sluggish when I entered the ring because I had to reduce weight. Last time I felt better but this time I was more focused."
He said he's prepared to face anybody they put in front of him because "I don't pick and choose but I'll study my opponent and I know I could take them."
Asked how far he was from the time he was chosen as "Fighter of the Year" Donaire said "Not yet, not yet. What's lacking is more patience. Against Settoul I was only one step ahead of him. In the past I would be five steps ahead, We need to study my opponent and be five steps ahead,"
He said "the journey continues but at least I'm on the right track. My speed and power are there and I thank God for that"
Donaire conceded "I learned a lot not just from the Pagara sparring, the Magsayo sparring but I learned a lot about myself and what I had forgotten. Overall so far so good. We are on the right track."
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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