DONAIRE WINS WBO SUPER BANTAMWEIGHT TITLE AFTER TWELVE ROUNDS OF HELL
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 12 Dec 2015
Former five division world champion Nonito ?The Filipino Flash? Donaire added another WBO super bantamweight belt to his trophy room but not after twelve rounds of veritable hell against No.1 ranked Cesar Juarez before an enthusiastic crowd at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Saturday morning Manila Time.
Donaire, the 2012 ?Fighter of the Year? and No. 5 in the pound for pound rankings at that time, looked like re-asserting his mastery of the 122 pound division as the No. 2 ranked Filipino dominated the early rounds with excellent counter-punching behind a stinging jab, a thundering left hook and a wicked right hand.
A heavy favorite to win, Donaire dropped Juarez twice in round four with a thundering right and then moments later with a vicious left hook before he appeared to ease off in round five allowing the rugged Mexican to slowly claw back into the contest before Juarez decided to brawl, pushing Donaire against the ropes and hammering him to the body, turning the tide in what turned into a brutal waterfront brawl.
Through the middle rounds Donaire who suffered a deep cut on his right eye which required several stitches and had a welt under his left eye while his left thumb was also swollen even as he began to dramatically fade as Juarez threw caution to the winds and went after Donaire in the process leaving himself open for some telling counter-punches by ?The Filipino Flash? who appeared willing to get hit provided he could land one big counter-punch.
A slip in round six when Donaire tripped over referee Ramon Pena resulted in twisting his ankle which seemed to hamper his movement.
ABS-CBN reporter Dyan Castillejo who was at ringside said Nonito told her he couldn?t get off the ropes because he couldn?t move and stressed that he was not tired, although Dyan quoted Donaire as saying that at one point in the later rounds he felt like giving up because Juarez was like a bull and was relentless in his aggression.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum paid tribute to Donaire for his unbelievable courage.
Although Donaire rocked Juarez a couple of times with telling right and left hooks Juarez continued to storm forward in the typical style of a Mexican warrior and appeared to overcome an initially hostile Puerto Rican crowd with his gallantry and readiness to fight, no matter what the consequences.
Juarez who had been knocked down before but never knocked out maintained that reputation as he not only survived the early hammering he received from Donaire but even had Nonito in deep trouble himself in rounds eight and nine before Donaire dug deep into his courageous Filipino heart in the 11rth and 12th rounds with some telling flurries to win a lopsided decision on the scorecards of all three Puerto Rican judges but which certainly did not reflect the closeness of the fight which must be considered a ?Fight of the Year? candidate.
Donaire who had trained harder than ever before, realized by the end of the fight that it was his hardest battle as a super bantamweight and despite the scorecards of the judges it wasn?t easy at all.
Judges Nelson Vazquez and Jose Roberto Torres both turned in identical 116-110 scorecards for Donaire while the third judge Gerardo Martinez had an even more lopsided margin of 117-109.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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