Donaire overpowers Montiel
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 20 Feb 2011
Power-punching Nonito ?Filipino Flash? Donaire Jr came true to his words, needing only two rounds in a sensational technical knockout victory over Mexican Fernando Montiel to crown himself the new World Boxing Council/World Boxing Organization bantamweight champion Saturday night (Sunday in Manila) at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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A powerful left hook below the ear, followed by a right dropped the dethroned champ to the canvas 58 seconds left of the second and although Montiel got up before the count of eight, his legs were wobbly paving the way for Donaire to hit him with the same left on the same spot forcing referee Russel Mora to intervene and stop the fight in 2:25 of the period.
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?I had a premonition that this would happen. I told my trainer (Robert Garcia) in camp before Christmas that the fight would end in the second round,? the General Santos City-based 31-year-old Filipino-American said after his victory, his most impressive since beating Vic Darchinyan for the world 112-pound crown in 2007.
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?I hit him with a left hook and I looked down. I saw his legs twitching and I know the fight was over,? Donaire, who after his triumph over Darchinyan remained fighting nearly anonymous opponents, ?improved his record to 26-1 win-loss with 18 knockouts, added.
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The scheduled 12-round all-or-nothing title confrontation actually ended right when Donaire came out in the first round firing and connecting with jabs complemented with left hooks to the body. A right straight to the face caught Montiel, who dropped to 44-3-2 with 34 Kos, reeling ending the round with the Filipino obliging to a 10-9 count.
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Montiel somewhat came alive opening the second connecting with a right uppercut, his own left hook to the tummy and lefts and rights combination but those were all there were to his arsenal as the new champ countered with his main left hook weapon that stunned the Mexican, who hit the floor his legs trembling.
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?I know that we both had the power to knock each other out, but I made the first mistake and I paid for it,? the Los Mochis native said after the encounter dubbed as the ?little-man dream matchup.
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He ended up at the University Medical Cenrter trauma unit after the fight for precautionary treatment.
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Donaire, clad in red trunks, climbed the ring ahead of Moniel, wearing white, ?and looked very determined as against the former 118-lbs kingpin who appeared tense even during the pre-match instructions of the referee.
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Both weighed the bantamweight limit at the eve of the fight. Donaire though is younger by three years and had edge in height at 5-foot-7 to 5-4 and reach 58-inch to 57. ??
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While both agreed to give each a rematch, the overwhelming result looked Donaire toi have earned the chance of his target of unifying the 118-pound division that would be possible with a potential meeting against the winner of an April 23 collision between unbeaten 25-year-old Mexican-born IBO and WBC silver belt king Abner Mares ?of Montebello, Calif., and Africa's 30-year-old two-time IBF champion Joseph Agbeko.
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Also waiting in the wing could be WBA's bantamweight king is 25-year-old southpaw Artemio Moreno ?of Panama, who has a Feb. 26 defense against 32-year-old Lorenzo Parra ?of Venezuela.
Or the Filipino Flash could also opt to follow the path of compatriot and townmate Manny Pacquiao, ?the only fighter to win eight world championships in as many weight divisions, a possibility even Top Rank top honcho Bob Arum himself doesn?t discount. ?
Arum has often compared Donaire, who walks around at 135 pounds, to the ?Pacman? whom Donaire himself said is definitely an inspiration in his career.
Besides the Agbeko-Mares winner, Arum has a promotional stable of fighters against whom he could match Donaire. There are Canadian southpaw IBF super bantamweight king Steve Molitor and, WBO counter part Wilfredo Vazquez.
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Moving to the featherw3ight division will have WBA and IBF belt holder Yuriorkis Gamboa and WBO counter part Juan Manuel Lopez.
Down the road at lightweight (135 pounds), there are potential bouts opposite star, Brandon Rios, who will meet WBA champ Miguel Acosta or WBC lightweight champ Humberto Soto.
Filipino welterweight contender Mark Jason Melligen pulled out a hard-fought ten round decision over Sonora, Mexico's Gabriel Martinez
The southpaw Melligen seemed to start the fight strong and finish strong as well, closing the final rounds with a definite sense of urgency. Melligen got into a rhythm with his left hand but wasn't able to finish off Martinez, who seemed to come equipped with a rock chin.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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