THE DONAIRE-VERSUS-MONTIEL PUZZLE
By Reylan Loberternos
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 16 Jan 2011
Tungod, Inabanga, Bohol ? Enough with the personal issues surrounding Nonito ?The Filipino Flash? Donaire already. A great and exciting matchup inside the squared circle is at hand. Now, let's try to talk boxing.
First and foremost, we consider the tale of the tape. Donaire is at least 2 inches taller than Montiel and has a 1-and-a-half reach advantage. Considering their fighting styles, Donaire can exploit his height and reach advantage to box and pick his shots from a safe distance, particularly in the earlier rounds. This will give Donaire a little buffer for points in case the bout goes to the scorecards and at the same time build his confidence as the fight goes on. Montiel is known for his patience, toughness and resilience. Thus, it is futile to expect him to get frustrated. He will continue to fight his way inside even if it would mean taking a few shots along the way. The Gorres fight should be a concrete proof of that. Donaire needs to be a little bit more patient and calculating in this fight, too. He should not rush for a knockout. Montiel knows Donaire's ribcage problems in the past and the gritty Mexican is an outstanding body puncher. Donaire's stiff jabs will be crucial to keep Montiel at bay, throwing occasional hooks and straights to mount his own offensive.
What's going for Montiel is the fact that he's been fighting around the contracted weight limit since November of 2008. He?s had seven bouts in the bantamweight division with five knockouts to his credit. This means that his body is already well adjusted to this division and he's more used to taking heavier punches than Donaire is. On the other hand, Donaire just moved up to bantamweight last month against Volodymyr Sydorenko of Ukraine. Yes, Donaire beat his first bantamweight assignment from pillar to post, but we can hardly consider the Ukrainian as a reliable barometer for the bantamweight wars. It still remains to be seen how Donaire takes Montiel's heavy hands. Let us not forget that Rafael Concepcion, a fighter Donaire had so much trouble disposing off, was knocked out by Montiel within 3 rounds. This basically tells us of how much firepower Montiel has in his fists. Montiel is the defending champion so Donaire shouldn?t slack down, either. Judges, more often than not, give the champion the benefit of the doubt. Donaire needs to be careful and calculating, but at the same time effective and convincing to earn the judges? nod. Montiel, for his part, needs to find a way to carve his way inside and make a brawl out of it.
This matchup is indeed a puzzle? but while most puzzles bore us to death, the Donaire-versus-Montiel conundrum promises excitement more than any other!
Comments are highly appreciated. You may send them to reylanloberternos@yahoo.com.ph Follow me on twitter reylan_l
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