Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire: The Experiment
By Gina L. Caliboso
Remember these lines from Rocky I?
Apollo’s Trainer: “I don’t want you messin’ with southpaws”
Apollo: “Southpaw nothin’, I’ll drop ‘em in 3”
This past Saturday, Nonito “Filipino Flash” Donaire, 24-1, 16 KO’s, decided to conduct a bold experiment and fight as a southpaw against promising Mexican fighter (and southpaw) Hernan Marquez, 27-2, 20 KO’s.
Although Donaire came away as the winner in the 8th round by TKO in the experimental bout to fight as a lefty, he showed he can get away with it, maybe even win by points, but in the end, Donaire’s true strength lies in what the commentators stated throughout the fight that Donaire “fights taller” and dominated the closing rounds of the fight with more success as a right hander. If Donaire were to take on Vic Darchinyan AGAIN, his right hand may be an option as the fight would be southpaw against southpaw, but with KO power in his hook, Donaire should stick to what he does best – fight orthodox and continue to win.
Fighting as a southpaw poses numerous challenges. As someone who has trained in both left and right leads, it shouldn’t matter too much, especially if you are schooled and physically training consistently. But boxing in a right lead or unmatched leads, it’s as if you have four different ways of thinking – you as the orthodox fighter have to understand offense and defense meanwhile when faced with a southpaw fighter, everything gets all turned around and suddenly, from my own experience, I can barely feel my feet and I always slip inside right into his power left.
Punches are painful, period, but again, when I’m fighting orthodox and I’m fighting someone in a right lead, everything just feels different and my body just gets frozen as if I have no counter.
Marquez showed tremendous skill when he and Donaire fought each other inside. Marquez executed punches and landed them solidly against Donaire’s susceptible defense and at one point during the middle rounds of the fight, Showtime revealed Press Row boxing scores in favor of Marquez. Extend it even further, Donaire’s southpaw fighting style is competitive, but not quite polished enough to win over the course of 12 rounds. Should Donaire continue to grow as a fighter, with perhaps another matchup with Darchinyan or even moving up in weight, he just may have to keep the experiment exactly on that level, experimental and use as necessary for adjustment.
Donaire’s one loss occurred early in his career back in 2001against Rosendo Sanchez, 4-1, 1 KO when he lost in a 5 round unanimous decision. Against Darchinyan, Donaire became the IBF Flyweight title with his 5th round TKO. Donaire quickly defended the IBF title one opponent after another. In December 2007, he defeated Luis Maldonado, 35-5, 26 KO’s.
From 2008 to 2009, Donaire’s record is impressive in that he hasn’t met much of a challenge since Darchinyan. In 2008, in his one bout of the year, Donaire defeated Moruti Mthalane, 25-2, 16 KO’s. In 2009, Donaire fought twice. In April 2009, he faced a fourth consecutive title defense against Raul Martinez, 27-1, 16 KO’s and defeated him with a 4th round TKO. In 2009, he became the interim WBA World Super Flyweight titleholder when he defeated Rafael Concepcion, 14-4, 8 KO’s with a unanimous decision over 12 rounds – the longest fight Donaire has fought in since 2006 when he fought against Oscar Andrade, 36-35, 18 KO’s over 12 rounds resulting in a unanimous decision.
Donaire’s experiment has been at the forefront lately and being met with success. Two of my favorite fighters in the Super 6 Tournament, Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell fight both orthodox and southpaw and both came away as winners in their last bouts of the tournament. Also, due to Pacquiao’s success, fighting southpaw is not ‘nuthin’ as Apollo Creed stated, but southpaws are not all Pacquiao caliber either.
As Donaire remains the current interim WBA World Super Flyweight titleholder and is currently ranked #1, it’s possible that he may be going up in weight, but not by much. It would be in his best interest to remain at super flyweight, but when you think about the competition of the boxers within the bantamweight division and possibly at 5 pounds heavier, his obvious boxing talent and his ability to keep weight on may balance well with his experiment. Against Marquez, Donaire weighed in at 114-1/2. And, as he has beaten the best bantamweight Vic “Raging Bull” Darchinyan, 35-2, 27 KO’s at 112 lbs, his step into the bantamweight division is not too far off and will be probably be sooner rather than later. When Donaire and Darchinyan met back in 2007, Donaire scored a textbook hook that left his opponent dazed and confused. Since then, both Darchinyan and Donaire have become better fighters. And, Donaire, is on course for a bantamweight matchup against Darchinyan or Fernando Montiel, 41-2, 31 KO’s.
Right now, Fernando Montiel is the #1 ranked bantamweight with Darchinyan ranked #2, followed by Yonnhy Perez, 20-0, 14 KO’s, and Joseph Agbeko, 27-2, 22 KO’s ranks at #8. One of Donaire’s losing opponents, Rafael Concepcion, is set to face Montiel for both the WBC and WBO Bantamweight titles this Saturday, July 17th. Also, should Donaire decide to go for the IBF Super Flyweight title, he would have to face South African Simphiwe Nongqayi, 16-0, 6 KO’s. Later this month on July 31st, Nongqayi will be facing a title defense against Juan Alberto Rosas, 31-5, 25 KO’s.
There is already talk that Montiel is Donaire’s next opponent. In the upcoming months, as Donaire is expected to move up in weight, his experiment just might get better. However, he should not forget what has worked in his past fights. Donaire isn’t exactly ‘nuthin’ but a southpaw, but maybe, he could fight his way to be the best fighter among bantamweights off both the left and right sides. Either way, opponents will be there, ready to take him and he will at my prediction, be the undisputed fight champion in whatever decision, in whatever style he decides.