NO SMILES AND HANDSHAKES DURING DONAIRE-DARCHINYAN WEIGHIN
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 09 Nov 2013
Vic ?The Raging Bull? Darchinyan surprisingly officially weighed-in half-a-pound heavier than 2012 ?Fighter of the Decade? Nonito ?The Filipino Flash? Donaire who clash in an eagerly-awaited rematch in Corpus Christi, Texas on Sunday morning Manila Time.
There were no smiles and no handshakes between Donaire and Darchinyan, who suffered a crushing 5th round knockout on July 7, 2007 in which Donaire grabbed the Australian?s IBF and IBO flyweight belts and gave him a beating he could never forget.
Revenge is on Darchinyan?s mind and Donaire?s trainer Robert Garcia has said because of his hate for Nonito, Darchinyan can be dangerous.
Their face off was intense and Drachinyan said ?Rigondeaux schooled him, I?m going to finish him and send him into retirement.?
Donaire who moved up in weight after his stunning loss to Guillermo Rigondeaux in New York last year had to struggle to make the 122 pound limit and decided to move up to 126. Although Darchinyan initially told the Manila Standard he wanted a catch-weight bout at 123-124 pounds he eventually agreed to the featherweight limit and came in at 125 ? pounds while Donaire tipped the scales at 125 ?.
The giant Philippine broadcast network ABS-CBN will telecast the fight at 11:00 a.m. right after the Miss Universe beauty pageant coverage on Channel 2 with a replay of the Donaire-Darchinyan fight and all three other world title fights on Studio 23 at 8:00 p.m.
While the southpaw Darchinyan is a heavy handed fighter, at the age of 37 his come forward style is expected to be perfect for the counter-punching Donaire whose left hook is his most deadly weapon although he has also developed a vicious uppercut.
Just like Manny Pacquiao who wants to regain his status as an elite fighter when he seeks to erase the memory of a crushing 6th round knockout at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez last December 8 when he clashes with Brandon ?Bam Bam? Rios in Macau on November 24, Donaire also wishes to regain his stature as a pound for pound fighter when he faces Darchinyan and has predicted the ten round non-title bout will end in a knockout.
Donaire told the Manila Standard some months ago he was aiming to fight the winner of the battle for the vacant vWBO featherweight title between Orlando Salido and Orlando Cruz which Salido won.
He is hoping that an impressive win over Darchinyan will earn him a crack at Salido's title which had earlier been relinquished by Donaire's good friend Mikey Garcia who is going after the junior lightweight crown of Roman "Rocky" Martinez of Puerto Rico on the main event of a blockbuster Top Rank card.
Donaire and Garcia, the younger brother of trainer Robert Garcia, had made it clear they wouldn't fight each other with Mikey telling us in Macau that he relinquished the 126 pound title to pave the way for Nonito to hopefully win the crown.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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