DONAIRE NAMED 'FIGHTER OF THE YEAR' BY BOXING SCENE
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 27 Dec 2012
The widely read internet site Boxing Scene has named Nonito "The Filipino Flash" Donaire as "Fighter of the Year" with another Filipino, WBO/WBA flyweight champion Brian Viloria given honorable mention in the same category.
Donaire who was well on tnhe way to winning "Fightrer of the Year" honors after his spectacular 2nd round knockout of Mexican bantamweight champion Fernando "Cochulito" Montiel last year but lost out in the end to his friend Andre Ward who defeated Carl Froch, had earlier been acclaimed as "Fighter of the Year" by ESPN, the acclaimed worldwide leader in sports.
In citing Donaire this year boxingscene.com's respected editor Jake Donovan noted that in 2012 Donaire "fought four times, all coming against consensus Top 10 competition. The run came in a new weight class, moving up to 122 lb. a year after establishing himself as the best bantamweight in the world.Twelve months and four wins later, Donaire has now established himself as the best super bantamweight in the world."
Donovan pointed out that Donaire was forced to fight throughout the year with a hand injury that required nine stitches after
it opened up during the IBF title fight against then champion Jeffrey Mathebula who wcas dropped by a patented left hook
by Donaire which resulted in a broken jaw into two places.
Boxing Scene commended Donaire who, one day after adding the IBF title to his trophy room became the first fighter in the sport to voluntarily subject himself to 24/7/365 random drug testing which sparked the "Fighter of the Year" discussions.
The website said "Donaire?s stance on the subject was a rare breath of fresh air, in a year where performance enhancing drug (PED) use had run rampant in our sport. Several notable fighters were already busted in the first half of the year, including Andre Berto and Lamont Peterson, both suffering fight cancellations after getting popped during random pre-fight testing conducted by Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA)."
Donaire reiterated what he told the Manila Standard prior to his last fight against Arce when he said ?I?ve always decided to do something (to show) that everything I?ve done and that I?ve accomplished has come from working hard.?
Donaire expressed the hope that ?everybody feels the need to show that they?re legit. But I?m doing it for myself and my fans.?
In naming Viloria for honorable mention boxingscene.com said "Brian Viloria ? Three separate fighters laid claim to the lineal flyweight championship in 2012, but Viloria has proven be the division?s best fighter. A knockout win over Omar Nino Romero in May helped avenge a six-year old defeat (the first of his career), but it was his three-knockdown, 10th round stoppage of Hernan ?Tyson? Marquez that ultimately landed Viloria land in the honorable mention section of this category for a second straight year. Not bad for a fighter who just two years ago was written off as finished at the top level."
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