NONITO DONAIRE BATTLES GARCIA HERNANDEZ AND HOPES TO RETURN AS WORLD CHAMPION
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 07 Sep 2017
Donaire.
Former world champion Nonito Donaire (37-4-0, 24 KOs) will return to the action and will battle Ruben Garcia Hernandez (22-2-1, 9 KOs) for the WBC Silver featherweight title in a bout that will occur in the World Boxing Super Series Quarterfinals on Saturday, September 23 at the Alamodome live in San Antonio, Texas and presented by Ringstar Sports. The fight is the undercard of the main event of WBA cruiserweight titleholder Cuban Yunier Dorticos (21-0, 20 KOs) fighting against "The Russian Hammer" Dmitry Kudryashov (21-1, 21 KOs).
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Donaire fights for the first time after a controversial loss last November to Jessie Magdaleno. Donaire recently signed up with Ringstar Sports and hopes to regain his crown in the featherweight division. Garcia Hernandez is a no-nonsense Mexican fighter making a name for himself especially in the United States.
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"I'm ready to return to the ring and show that I still have what it takes to be a world champion and face the best in this sport," said Donaire as quoted by ESPN. "I'm thankful to Ringstar Sports for helping me in this next chapter of my career and I know with them in my corner, I'll be back to where I belong soon. I'm excited to give the great fight fans in San Antonio a great show, just like when I fought Wilfredo Vazquez at the Alamodome in 2012. After this fight, I'm coming for all of the featherweight champions and to prove I'm the best in the division."
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"I am grateful for this opportunity and I can't wait to get in the ring," said Garcia Hernandez. "I know that I am facing a great fighter and that has motivated me to train harder than ever before for this matchup. I'm planning on giving it my all and giving the fans a great fight. I hope Donaire comes to fight because I am coming to knock him out on September 23rd."
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Richard Schaefer, Chairman & CEO of Ringstar Sports said the return of Nonito Donaire to the ring is a treat for boxing fans in San Antonio as he looks to return to his place as one of the top fighters in the sport. "He will be in an all-action matchup against a tough Mexican fighter in Ruben Garcia Hernandez and I expect them to give the fans an exciting night," said the former Golden Boy CEO.
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The "Filipino Flash" Donaire was born in Talibon, Bohol then grew up General Santos City. They later migrated to San Leandro, California and now fights out of Las Vegas. He hoped for a rematch with Magdaleno but never mayerialized, so he partnered with Ringstar Sports with the dream of returning to the top of the featherweight division. Donaire had won titles in four different weight classes and was awarded as the 2012 Fighter of the Year by the BWAA, ESPN and Ring Magazine.
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Donaire, who won the WBA (Super) featherweight title by fifth-round unanimous technical decision against Simpiwe Vetyeka in 2014 but lost it later that year in his first defense when he was knocked out by the bigger Nicholas Walters in the sixth round. After the loss, Donaire returned to the junior featherweight division and eventually won the WBO super bantamweight title, defeating Mexican Cesar Juarez by unanimous decision.
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Fighting out of Mexico City, Mexico, Hernandez made his pro debut in 2010. Since that time he has battled his way through bouts in Mexico while fighting in the U.S. four times. Hernandez enters this bout on a seven fight winning streak but against fighters of not so impressive records. He lost to Randy Caballero and Rafael Rivera, two undefeated boxers during that time.
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Oscar De La Hoya expects Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs) to come out from the much anticipated fight with Gennady Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs) victorious in September 16 in Las Vegas even if the odds are almost even. De La Hoya also told ESPN that their 12-round middleweight championship match will remind fight fans of the brief but unforgettable brawl between Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Thomas "Hitman" Hearns 32 years ago.
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Hagler stopped Hearns in the third round of their dramatic middleweight slugfest in March 1985 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.?I like six to eight rounds of hell,? De La Hoya told Smith when asked for an Alvarez-Golovkin prediction. ?I like six to eight rounds of hell, and my boy?s gonna win.? The former six-division world champion admitted, however, that either fighter could win their long-awaited confrontation at the T-Mobile Arena.
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?It?s a pick ?em fight,? De La Hoya said. ?It?s a 50-50 fight. I mean, look, these guys have been fighters all their lives, boxers all their lives, they know how to move in the ring, they know how to throw punches from different angles, they know how to bob and weave, they know how to get out of trouble when necessary, they know how to knock you out. These guys are real fighters, real boxers."
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Selling the Canelo-GGG as one of the most significant middleweight battles in the history of boxing, de la Hoya added: ?And so the fact that you have the two top guys in the middleweight division fighting in the same ring, on the same night, this is one fight that you just don?t wanna miss. I?m telling you, it?s gonna be Hagler-Hearns all over again.?
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On Saturday the amazing trio of bouts in the super flyweight class will happen at the Stub Hub Center in Carson, California with the main event the rematch between WBC champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez, who boxed over twelve exciting rounds last March 18 which saw Gonzalez suffering his first career loss. "Ticket sales are very strong, we expect a complete sell-out," announced Tom Loeffler, the managing director of K2 Promotions, the promoter for this card that also features Juan Francisco Estrada vs. Carlos Cuadras and Naoyo Inoue vs. Antonio Nieves.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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