By Erwin Lastimosa
Make room Manny Pacquiao because there is another Filipino in town and his name is Nonito “Filipino Flash” Donaire.
Tonight on HBO, boxing fans witnessed one of the best finishes in boxing in the lower weight divisions when Filipino American boxer Nonito Donaire knocked out the 118-pound champion from Mexico, Fernando Montiel, with a lethal left hook counter similar to the one Nonito used to knockout Vic Darchinyan several years ago and became WBC and WBO champ.
I guess the people who bet on the fight were right when they made Donaire the 3 to 1 favorite over the more experienced champ Montiel because Donaire destroyed the best 118 pound bantamweight in boxing without breaking a sweat.
When the fighters first entered the ring, Donaire had the height advantage but Montiel looked chiseled and more muscular than Donaire even outweighing Nonito by a couple of pounds on the night of the fight.
The first round of the fight was more of a feeling out process and both fighters were measuring distance and being patient ready to attack like cobras, but Nonito got the better of Fernando in round one by landing more counter shots.
The second round was more of the same but this time Montiel became more aggressive realizing he couldn’t out box Nonito from the outside, and Bam! both fighters threw their hooks, Fernando’s landed first but Nonito’s left hook counter landed so hard that it dropped Montiel on the canvas and had Montiel spasm and twitching on the ground.
What surprised me was the referee, he should have stopped the fight once Montiel tried to get up but fell back down, instead, the ref let the fight continue and stopped it after Nonito landed another shot.
The impact from the Donaire’s left hook was so strong it left a slight dent on the side of Montiel’s face.
As a Filipino, I am so proud of Nonito and him being in the pound for pound list alongside fellow Filipino Manny Pacquiao, is truly a huge feat in boxing, this is the first time two Filipinos have been ranked so highly on the pound for pound list.
Hopefully this win by Donaire inspires more young Filipino fighters to train hard and smart and become better all around fighters.
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Erwin Lastimosa is a long time boxing fan and enjoys boxing discussion with his peers. Some of his favorite fighters are Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler, Muhammad Ali, Flash Elorde, Mike Tyson and Manny Pacquiao.