Donaire breaks Scottish jinx
By Joaquin Henson
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 05 Nov 2018
Nonito Donaire, Jr. finally broke a 55-year jinx where no Filipino fighter won in Scotland by halting Belfast's Ryan Burnett to wrest the WBA bantamweight crown at the SSE Hydro Arena in Glasgow last Saturday night.
Two Filipinos had previously fought Scots in Glasgow. Ric Magramo was decked twice in losing a 10-round decision to future world flyweight champion Walter McGowan in 1963 and his grand-nephew Ric Magramo, Jr. bowed to Paul Weir on a unanimous 12-round verdict in a WBO lightflyweight title bout in 1995. The first world title fight between a Filipino and a Scot was held at the Empire Pool in Wembley in 1937 when Benny Lynch outpointed La Carlota?s Small Montana in a flyweight bout.
Boxing stable owners Johnny and Liza Elorde accompanied Magramo, Jr. to Glasgow, cherishing fond memories. ?It wasn?t a hostile atmosphere at all,? said Liza. ?The Scottish fans were very respectful. After the fight, a lot of fans went to Ric for photographs and autographs like he was a show business celebrity. It was in April and Glasgow was quite cold but we were prepared for the weather.?
Magramo, Jr.'s brother is Melvin, another former fighter whose son Giemel is now ranked No. 7 by the WBO, No. 9 by the WBC and No. 13 by the IBF as a lightflyweight and No. 9 by the WBA as a flyweight.
But while the Scots were gracious in receiving Magramo, Jr., they can be hard to please, too. They booed Muhammad Ali when he showed up wearing a headgear and jogging pants in an uneventful four-round exhibition with Jimmy Ellis in Glasgow in 1965. Ali returned to Glasgow in 1993 on a book tour and was warmly received.
Even as Burnett is Irish and not a Scot, he was considered a hometowner in staking his WBA 118-pound strap against Donaire. The Scottish fans never booed Donaire and when the ring announcer declared the Filipino Flash the new champion, the audience broke out into applause----not wild but significant in showing appreciation. Donaire went to Burnett's corner at least twice after the fight to display concern over his condition and assisted in putting him on a stretcher to bring him out of the ring. Donaire told Burnett he's an "amazing fighter, a great champion" and wished him a speedy recover from his freak injury. The Scottish fans applauded Donaire's sportsmanlike gesture of compassion and declining to celebrate the victory in the ring as most newly-crowned boxing champions do.
Donaire said dropping down from featherweight to bantamweight wasn?t a problem. ?Everyone thinks they know me,? he said. ?All these scribes that say, oh, hell, you haven?t made 118 since whenever. But do they know me and what my natural weight really is? I?ve said I tried to bulk up for (Carl) Frampton (in a WBO interim featherweight title fight last April). And my bulk only led me to 131 pounds on fight night with Frampton in the 126-pound division. I?m not hurting my body at 118. It was discipline to get there and I?m not sacrificing my power for it.?
At the weigh-in last Friday, Donaire tipped the scales at 117.7 pounds while Burnett checked in at 117.8. Donaire clowned around when Burnett was delayed in showing up for the traditional face-off and looked confident. ?There can only be one,? he said. ?The Super Series is what boxing should be about because it's where the best fight only the best.?
Donaire said joining the World Boxing Super Series to determine the unified bantamweight champion came at the perfect time in his career. ?The main reason I entered the tournament is because I?ve gotten every accolade I wanted, except to be undisputed,? said Donaire who has held the IBF/IBO flyweight, interim WBA superflyweight, WBC/WBO bantamweight, WBA/IBF/WBO superbantamweight and WBA featherweight titles. ?With different promoters, organizations and TV networks, it?s always difficult to become undisputed. This tournament allows for my dream to come true, to finally call me the undisputed champion.?
Burnett, 26, was told he could never box again because of a blockage on the right side of his brain before turning pro in 2012. But he proved doctors wrong and with Ricky Hatton as his promoter and trainer, pursued his boxing career. When a dispute with Hatton ended their relationship in 2014, Burnett was forced to live in a car until he hooked up with trainer Adam Booth.
Photo: Donaire looks on as Burnett feels his hip that was injured during their WBA world championship fight Saturday night in Glasgow.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Joaquin Henson.
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