Is there a ?Frazier? out there for Donaire?
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 24 Oct 2011
It?s not much of a fight if only one guy does most of the punching. Nonito Donaire tried to make things exciting but Omar Narvaez picked the defense and survival route. It takes two to tango; a dance which ironically originated in Argentina.
Donaire wants to be a pay-per-view attraction in the United States. He has scored more highlight reel knockouts since his 2007 Knockout of the Year against Vic Darchinyan. His second round stoppage of Fernando Montiel last February will be talked about in the years to come.
But his WBC/WBO bantamweight title defense against Narvaez somehow parallels what has been happening in the heavyweight division. The Klitschko brothers, tall and dominant, made every defense a foregone conclusion. Their safety first style and anemic opposition made fans outside of Europe lose interest. Donaire is not a cautious boxer, but it would not help his cause if his challenger drew inspiration from the game plans of Joshua Clottey and Shane Mosley.
The Filipino Flash already fostered a following here in our boxing crazy archipelago, having spent his childhood years in Talibon, Bohol and Gen. Santos City before immigrating to California. The Filipino community in the United States has banded together to support him. When Manny Pacquiao retires, the 28 year old Donaire is the frontrunner to take his place. His lofty pound-for-pound status guarantees media attention. But matching Pacquiao?s crossover appeal will be a formidable task.
Pacquiao scored spectacular knockouts when he started his U.S. campaign as a superbantamweight. But it was when he moved up in weight and established a rivalry with the best Mexican boxers out there ? Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez ? that fans really took notice. He had a compelling trilogy against Morales and will fight Act 3 against Marquez next month. When Pacquiao fought these three boxers, most pundits thought they were better. Pacquiao knew he had to improve himself, push himself during training in order to beat them.
Donaire needs a similar opponent. Someone who is just as tall or even bigger; A boxer who is his antithesis but who is just as fast and is able to withstand his best power shots. The best boxers in history had rivalries against such type of fighters. Sugar Ray Robinson had Jake LaMotta, Muhammad Ali had Joe Frazier.
Donaire intends to move up to the 122 lb. ranks. The present crop of 118 lb. fighters ? Anselmo Moreno, Abner Mares, Joseph Agbeko - would be heavy underdogs against him if he stays. Can the superbantamweight champions like Toshiaki Nishioka and Jorge Arce push him to his physical limits? Or will Donaire simply dominate the division the way a prime Roy Jones dished out one-sided wins as a supermiddleweight and during his early years as a light-heavyweight?
A boxer with ring ferocity and brilliance is always captivating but total dominance can get boring.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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