Q&A with IBF-IBO World Flyweight Champ Nonito Donaire

published at boxing capital dot com
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Donaire, of Filipino descent and now based in the States made waves last year when winning both of the aforementioned titles. His win over the fancied Vic Darchinyan (W TKO 5 – July 2007) was impressive enough to be bestowed with honours by Ring Magazine, such as ‘Knockout of the Year’ and ‘Upset of the Year’.

Nicknamed ‘The Filipino Flash’ Donaire is currently 19-1 (12 KO’s) and has made one defence since his stunning title winning victory – beating Mexican Luis Maldonado in an eighth round stoppage in December 2007.

Next up for Donaire is a title defence against South African, Moruti Mthalane, a challenger that brings a 22-1 (15 KO’s) record to the ring, in a fight taking place at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas.

BOXING CAPITAL: You haven't fought since December last year. Can you tell us the story behind this long inactivity?

Nonito Donaire: To make a long overdrawn story short, I was scheduled to fight in Dubai in April but due to financial reasons the promoter couldn't put it together. In addition, Gary Shaw, my promoter then was not able to provide the 4 fights in a year as stipulated by contract. So after giving him ample time to schedule me a fight, I decided to move my career forward with a new promoter - Top Rank.

BC: You are 25 right now. Can you say you are at peak?

ND: I feel that I am a lot stronger than before but only near my peak. It's just a matter of time until I get to my full potential.

BC: How are preparations going for the Mthalane fight?

ND: Great. I have had great sparring and have been running consistently. I'm mentally and physically prepared for this fight. I'm ready.

BC: While the papers are saying that Mthalane is a "worthy challenger," his record is not impressive at all. There are no notable names in his resume aside perhaps for Hussein who has fought only one fighter of top caliber in his entire career (that fighter was Arce who KO’d him twice). What are your thoughts about this?

ND: I didn't have any notable names in my record before I fought Vic Darchinyan. All I know is that he's gonna give it all he has because he has nothing to lose. I never underestimate anyone.

BC: Reports say that Mthalane has good hand speed, footwork and jabs. It seems he can also take big punches. How do you plan to fight him?

ND: I feel right now I am the strongest in the 112 division (flyweight). And as long as I can land my punch, I know I can take him out.

BC: Any predictions about your fight against the South African?

ND: I always try to go for an early knockout.

BC: Reports have it that you're planning to move up in weight after this fight. Assuming you beat Mthalane, who would you like to fight next at 115 (Super Flyweight)?

ND: There's a lot of big names in the 115. We have Arce, Mijares, Montiel.

BC: Your thoughts about the Mijares-Darchinyan bout?

ND: Mijares is too smart for Darchinyan.

BC: A boxing site has quoted Darchinyan into saying "when I knock out Mijares, line-up Donaire next. I owe him one." Any comments about this?

ND: I'll fight anybody but that really depends on my promoter. A fight with Darchinyan if he beats Mijares would be fun.

BC: We all know that you lost your Olympic stint to a Fellow Filipino-American, Brian Viloria, who is also an active fighter at the moment. Is there any chance you would share the same ring with Viloria once more?

ND: There's a possibility of that happening because we are under the same promoter, but really there is nothing I can gain from that fight at this time.

BC: Your take on the coming dream fight between Oscar De La Hoya and fellow Filipino, Manny Pacquiao?

ND: Manny Pacquiao! I have to admit that De La Hoya has the height and weight advantage but Pacquiao certainly has the speed advantage and however strong your opponent is, if he can't land that punch it's nothing. Besides, Pacquiao believes in himself 100% and that kind of determination wins fights.

BC: What do you want to say in closing for your fans?

ND: I want to thank all my fans for their continued support. Look forward to Nov 1 when I put it all in the ring. Mabuhay!

Hopkins schools Pavlik, silences critics

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As the fight ended, Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins stared coldly to the members of the media in attendance. With sweat cascading down his grim face, The Executioner delivered a strong statement to the media—a great majority of whom had predicted that the night would see the closing of his career—that they were all wrong.

Dead wrong, to put it correctly.

The question of whether Hopkins’ 43 year old legs could still keep up with a much younger, hungrier and stronger fighter had just been answered emphatically. And Hopkins told the media in his act that he was not their grand ad with nothing left in his arsenal but phony tricks and other boring maneuvers. With his dominating performance, an accomplishment that “would give hope to the hopeless” as he put it before the fight, the aging future hall of famer has showed to the world that he was actually a 30 year old body with the superior ring intelligence of a 43 year old veteran.

Hopkins, who now improves to 49-5-1, 32 KOs, schooled Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik in a 12 round bout at a catch-weight of 170 lbs with his terrific hand speed, superior footwork, superb defense, and greater overall ringcraft. The lopsided Hopkins victory handed Pavlik, now 34-1, 30 KOs, the first loss of his career, which was built on terrorizing the middleweight division with his heavy right hand and knocking out opponent after opponent. This was the reputation dangerous puncher Pavlik was supposed to bring to the Hopkins fight, but failed to live up to.

The fight was very lopsided with the final scorecards of 118-106, 117-109 and 118-108 all in the favor of Hopkins. It was a very dominating performance for the aging veteran all through out the distance. It was a Hopkins show from round one to the final bell as Pavlik failed to deliver anything significant that would force Hopkins to abandon his game plan to suit his. The masterful display of boxing artistry and quick left hooks even silenced the pro-Pavlik crowd who were chanting his name in round two.

The complexion of the fight never changed from round one to round 12, aside from the occasional flurries Pavlik would let out, which, unfortunately for the Pavlik fans, were very few and far between. Pavlik would throw a left jab and Hopkins would either counter and hold or dance away after countering with a quick left or right.

From round one to four, Pavlik tried to catch Hopkins with his lead lefts and straight rights but failed to land anything of significance. He did connect with his left jabs several times in these rounds but never managed to build on it. Hopkins was simply masterful in his game of not getting hit while punishing Pavlik with his quick left hooks upstairs and one-two combinations everywhere else. The most notable actions in the first four rounds of the fight occurred during round two as Hopkins connected with a quick left hook to the chin that hurt Pavlik. A flurry followed and another hard left hook connected for Hopkins. Pavlik looked in trouble and Hopkins was poised to dictate the complexion of the game: beat Pavlik to the punch; don’t engage for too long; either hug or dance away quickly; and never let Pavlik finds comfort on working his way behind the left jab. Something Hopkins would execute masterfully until the final bell.

The story of schooling and manhandling continued during the second third of the fight as Hopkins proved to be too elusive for the Youngstown native. The target was there for the left jab, but Hopkins would no longer be available to receive the big right even before Pavlik unloaded it. It was very frustrating for The Ghost and the crowd were now chanting Hopkins name. The fight, however, had started to become interesting as Pavlik was now having success, albeit sporadic, in bringing the fight to Hopkins. Pavlik had increased his work rate and Hopkins has slowed down his pace. Could this be the point that the tide would turn to the favor of the youngster as said by some analysts who theorized that Hopkins legs would betray him at the second half of the contest?

However, Hopkins skills, intelligence and speed were simply several notches above Pavlik’s. There would be occasional roughhousing from rounds six to ten—a kind of fight that was supposed to favour Pavlik and his underrated uppercuts—but Hopkins would prove to be too slick and smart for him. The referee took away a point for Pavlik for hitting whilst holding during round eight only to even it for The Ghost as he deducted a point for Hopkins for holding in the following round.

Round 11 was the most interesting round for Pavlik as Hopkins turned to clinching. It was Pavlik’s best round. Hopkins would throw one and then clinch. But by doing that, he never allowed Pavlik to connect flush. He would give one, take one and hold. Was The Executioner now abandoning his brilliant game plan due to his supposed inability to mount a sustained offensive assault or was he feeling the power of Pavlik who had now connected with several telling shots to his body during the previous rounds? The answer would be neither; Hopkins was simply conserving energy as he planned to finish round 12 and the fight strongly, thereby proving all the media critics wrong – Hopkins was spitting defiance to all those who said he couldn’t last 12 rounds with a younger and supposedly stronger fighter.

Hopkins engaged, stood in front of Pavlik, exchanged flurries and mocked Pavlik, who just couldn’t connect with his much touted right hand. It was the most exciting round of the fight as Hopkins connected with some hard shots, rocking Pavlik. The action heightened with ten seconds left on the clock and the older Hopkins simply appeared to be the fresher of the two.

“Whoever I fight now, I’m going for the knock-out,” Hopkins said during the post-fight interview. He also said he wants to fight Joe Calzaghe and Roy Jones, Jr. again. As for Kelly Pavlik, it’s back to the drawing board.

Who is the boss at 175 now?

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A breath of fresh hope for the light-heavyweight division was seen by the world of boxing last night in Nevada as Chad Dawson (27-0, 17 KOs) outworked, out-sped, out-jabbed and out-pointed Antonio Tarver (27-5, 19 KOs) for the IBF and IBO belts in a fight that could be summed-up by one word: speed. Though it is logical to conclude that the fight has not produced a king yet for the division that has been debased by senior fighters who loved to fight at an invented sub-division of catch-weight, there is no argument that we have witnessed (one of) the division’s future, who could lay strong claim to the throne in the near future.

While the light heavyweight division could not lay claim to being the most seeded, as such distinction belongs to either the welterweight or the lightweight divisions, it is a home to many great and borderline great names that could each make a case for them as being the leader of the division.
Joe Calzaghe (45-0, 32 KOs), Roy Jones Jr. (52-4, 38 KOs) and Bernard Hopkins (48-5, 32 KOs) —the veteran blood at 175lbs are always there ready to take on anybody who dare claim the mythical title. Adrian Diaconu (25-0, 15 KOs) and Kelly Pavlik (34-0, 30 KOs) — the fresh blood at 175lbs are also poised to claim the kingship after they are through with their forthcoming respective bouts. Of course Glen Johnson (47-12, 32), the guy who unofficially defeated Dawson, will always blot Dawson’s résumé until rematch is given. Tarver is out of the picture for now.

There will always be the case for Calzaghe who was ranked number one by the Ring Magazine after his successful first outing at light heavyweight. Calzaghe is fighting Jones next month in what will be his second fight at light heavyweight and reports that the Welsh southpaw is planning to retire after the Jones fight has only left a big question as to his supposed status as top dog. There are a lot of young good guys in the division who are aching to be given the chance for a career-defining fight.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. (39-0, 25 KOs), who was interviewed while watching the Tarver-Dawson bout at ringside, could make an argument about it all day and shout to the world that ‘Bad’ Chad is the current number one fighter in the mythical pound for pound rankings, but until some issues and unfinished business is settled, the division will remain what is it — a free-for-all division; and Mayweather, a retired loudmouth who should stay retired.

We are now looking forward for some good light heavyweight rumblings next year. In order for him to strengthen his standing at the light heavyweight ranking, Dawson should give Johnson a rematch and settle not only the issue about his chin, but more than that, the issue who really the better fighter is. He could also choose to fight first the winner of the upcoming Pavlik-Hopkins match next week and then share the ring once more with Johnson. Either way, it will be a tall line-up for the speedy boxer and a great treat for the boxing loving people.

It will be very hard for any knowledgeable boxing fans to take Dawson seriously knowing that Johnson has given him the worst beating he had in all his fight. There were several times in their fight where Dawson looked spent and ready to go. But how the judges scored the fight a big UD for him is a matter of mystery. Dawson simply has to settle the score.

Dawson could easily be the best overall fighter in the division today, but other top fighters in the division could give him some stylistic nightmares, given that he doesn’t have the power to deliver a stoppage or even just bother any of them with his light punches. Both Calzaghe and Roy Jones have the skills and reflex to cut his way off and tie him behind the ropes; Pavlik and Johnson are great swarmers; while the unbeaten dangerous puncher Diaconu could match him in a game of busy-punching and out-match him in a game of banging. A win against two of these guys would certainly solidify his status at light heavyweight. Especially if those wins were against Johnson and Pavlik. It is only then that we could take Mayweather’s pronouncement a little bit more serious and exclaim “we have a leader!”

The battle for light heavyweight supremacy rages on!

(A preview of the coming Dawson-Tarver bout)

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He would badmouth ‘Bad’ Chad whenever he gets the chance and the youngster would strike back with his own words of wisdom to the guy he called “old news” by saying “your mouth can’t fight for you once you get in that ring.” The tactic for Antonio Tarver (27-4, 19 KOs) is very obvious; he wants to get into Chad Dawson’s (26-0, 17 KOs) head. Tarver was hoping for Dawson to lose his focus, forget about boxing and go all out and reckless on October 11.

The psychological ploy suits 39 year-old leftie Tarver perfectly as that the brightest spot for him to win the fight is to brawl, work the body and test Dawson’s chin. Considered by some as the future of the 175 division, ‘Bad’ Chad for his part, is expected to rely on his speed and busy punching to outwork the crafty veteran and hope for Tarver’s legs to go somewhere on the distance.

The question of age is there for Tarver hanging like a Damocles’ sword right above his head. If we are going to believe Dawson and the number, being 39, is indeed ‘old news’ especially in this combat sport where speed is an imperative skill to earn the ‘W’s’. By the looks of it, 26 year-old Dawson is very lucky he is fighting on Saturday night against an older version of the guy who destroyed the Roy Jones legend. Dawson is fast, can throw a variety of punches from many angles, and has a reliable straight shot. More than this; he’s a mean work machine and he can bang and brawl and box at the same time. He is bad news for a guy who is pushing 40. Or so it seems?

The question of age remains to be seen as Tarver looked like his old self in his last outing against Clinton Woods (41-4, 24 KOs) while Dawson looked terrible in his last fight against Glen Johnson (47-12, 32 KOs). ‘Magic Man’ Tarver may be old in number but people seemed to forget that he started his pro career at the age of 28. If their last performances against their respective opponents is any indication, Dawson is set to rendezvous with old but bad news come fight night on Palm’s Casino in Las Vegas. Bad Chad is fool to believe he would be facing a shot Tarver. Aged? Yes. But Tarver is still young.

Tarver possesses all the tools to make ‘Bad’ Chad look bad. He’s wily, skillful and experienced enough to weather whatever storm Dawson is planning to unleash in Nevada. His last three fights were a testament not only of his capacity to rebound in big leaps after a big defeat but also of his staying power in the ring. His KO4 win against Danny Santiago (29-4, 19 KOs), though certainly inferior and seemingly trivial compared to his signature KO2 win against Roy Jones, Jr. (52-4, 38 KOs), has an obvious story to tell; one well placed shot and you are in trouble. The way he hammered and sent Woods into submission also tell a similar story.

In his horrible performance on the Johnson fight, Dawson has exposed himself to the world that he is very beatable, even to an old man. The way he was hurt several times by Johnson in his last fight led to many to believe that his chin is weak and that he has the tendency to bow down under pressure. He was lucky enough to get away with a UD victory in a fight where many felt he lost. His mindset, motivation and confidence in this coming fight can also be questioned as he refused to rematch with Johnson and turned down a big payday fight against Romanian Adrian Diaconu (25-0, 15 KOs).

But yeah, Dawson is the better overall fighter between the two. He’s more complete though his capacity to adapt and reformulate his game to the other fighter’s offense is as questionable as his chin. But being the younger and certainly the faster fighter between the two, expect him to put on the pressure and bring the fight to Tarver early on in the fight. He would try to wear Tarver’s body and hope for the legs to go away along with it. He has the footwork and speed to confuse and beat Antonio to the punch. If Dawson can survive the first three quarter of the fight, there is a big chance for him to win by UD. Expect Tarver to welcome the aggression gladly as it would boost his chance to connect to the chin. If Dawson’s chin is really as weak as it seemed to be on the Johnson fight, then it’s over for him inside ten rounds.

It’s going to be an exciting fight between the two southpaws who will be battling for the IBO and IBF light heavyweight title.