Nonito Donaire

This Saturday, New York’s Radio City Music Hall will host the WBO/WBA super bantamweight title unification bout between “The Filipino Flash” Nonito Donaire (31-1, 20 KO) and Guillermo Rigondeaux (11-0, 8 KO).

Both fighters have been impressive inside the ring during their careers.  Donaire is near the top of most pound-for-pound lists, while Rigondeaux is seen as one of the most explosive punchers in the super bantamweight division.  Many see Rigondeaux as a worthy opponent for Donaire, but I don’t.

Guillermo Rigondeaux is a skilled fighter with fast hands and great punching power, but he lacks the boxing skills that Nonito Donaire possesses.  Rigondeaux is a stationary target who is flat footed. At times, he plays the role of counterpuncher, but Donaire is fast enough to make him pay for his lack of movement. 

Some people think that Rigondeaux is a dangerous opponent for Donaire simply because he is a southpaw, but Donaire in the past has matched up well with southpaws.  Two of Donaire’s most impressive wins were against Toshiaki Nishioka and Vic Darchinyan, who are both southpaws.  The result in both fights was a Nonito Donaire victory via knockout. 

The biggest gap between Donaire and Rigondeaux is the experience factor.  Rigondeaux has only fought 11 professional fights to Donaire’s 32.  Donaire’s experience allows him to ad-lib during a fight.  This is a skill that Rigondeaux has not yet learned.

In the end, Donaire is going to win this fight.  No man has been able to deliver a loss to Rigondeaux’s record yet, but Donaire will and I believe that he will do so by way of knockout.  I don’t think
Rigondeaux is going to make it past the ninth round. 

If this happens, then Donaire is one step closer to reaching the same status that Manny Pacquiao enjoyed during the pinnacle of his career.  This could be a defining moment in Nonito Donaire’s legacy. 

When Nonito Donaire (31-1, 20 KO) takes on Guillermo Rigondeaux (11-0, 8 KO) on Saturday night at Radio City Music Hall, every major boxing fan will be watching.

This is one of those fights that may not be on the level of a major pay-per-view main event as far as commercial appeal, but if you know boxing, you realize how big this fight is.

Rarely do we see two fighters who are genuinely considered the best in their divisions fight in their primes. In case you aren't aware of Rigondeaux, don't let the record fool you.

The Cuban fighter has tons of amateur experience. He's a 32-year-old savvy veteran fighter who won gold medals at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics. Per HBO.com, Rigondeaux claims to have over 400 amateur fights with only 12 losses.

In the same article, legendary trainer Freddie Roach—who once worked with Rigondeaux—calls him the greatest talent he's ever seen.

Rigondeaux is the reigning WBA super bantamweight champion, and he will stake his championship along with Donaire's WBO super bantamweight title in this fight.

Donaire has been an upstanding champion. The many fighter-of-the-year awards he won for his work in 2012 are well deserved.

He has continually taken on the best fighters available to him, and this is another clear example of that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKN3XyaP-S8

"The Filipino Flash" is coming off a three-round destruction of Jorge Arce in December. Rigondeaux's last fight was a unanimous-decision win over Robert Marroquin in September.

This is going to be awesome, and here's how you can watch.

When: Saturday, April 13, 11 p.m. ET

Where: Radio City Music Hall in New York

TV: HBO

Live Stream: HBOGO (Pay Service)

Donaire is Diligently Pursuing Greatness

Ever since Donaire won his first world title in 2007 against the rough Vic Darchinyan, he hasn't stopped taking on top-notch competition.

While some champions in the sport are accused of ducking fighters, no one can logically say that about Donaire.

Since 2007, he has fought and defeated Moruti Mthalane, Hernan Marquez, Fernando Montiel, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., Toshiaki Nishioka and Arce.

All of these fighters are current or former champions. Donaire stopped all of them except Vazquez Jr., who he still knocked down.

He has won 30 fights in a row since suffering the lone loss of his career in his second professional fight.

After such a great 2012, Donaire could have taken an easier fight, and fans would have barely noticed. Instead, he will battle one of the most dangerous and skilled fighters on the planet.

The Filipino Flash wants to make a major mark on the sport.

Looking to Become a Household Name

Many people may not know Rigondeaux yet, but if he defeats Donaire, his notoriety will grow exponentially. 

Donaire is indeed chasing greatness, but it could be said that Rigondeaux is looking for validation.

Sure, he has looked every bit as good as he has been made out to be, but he has yet to display those amazing talents in the ring against another truly great fighter. Donaire is that man, and he will serve as a measuring stick for Rigondeaux on Saturday.

Is he really as talented and amazing as Roach and others say he is? It certainly looks like it based on what we've seen of him, but beating Donaire would be all the validation any fighter needs.

Keys to Victory

Donaire's speed and power are nearly unrivaled, especially in the smaller weight classes. He has explosive one-punch KO power as seen by his spectacular KO of Montiel:

He's aggressive and generally looks to pounce when he hurts opponents.

Against a fighter like Rigondeaux who is so adept at countering, he must be careful. This is also a classic orthodox vs. southpaw matchup. Not only is Rigondeaux a southpaw, he's also extremely crafty.

Donaire's best approach in this fight is to stay patient, which would allow him to build a lead throughout the course of the bout. If he is overaggressive, Rigondeaux will use that against him with effective counterpunching. 

This could cause Donaire to become careless and open himself up for a big shot.

Rarely will he face a fighter who can match his speed. But this is one instance where that will be the case.

Rigondeaux isn't just fast; he's extremely quick and sudden as illustrated by his slight movements and deceptive feints. He also fights with extraordinary balance and poise, and the fact that he throws punches with pop makes him even tougher.

Take a look at him in this video:

To win this fight, he has to take Donaire's confidence early. To do that, he must be elusive, change angles defensively and fire back, scoring punches to get his opponent concerned with being out-pointed.

If he can do that, he could score the biggest win of his career.

My Prediction

More than anything, I'm almost certain we're going to see a great fight. It probably won't be a brawl, as Rigondeaux is far too refined for that, but from a tactical standpoint, this should be excellent.

As for picking a winner, I hesitate to say this because I think so highly of Donaire, but styles make fights and Rigondeaux's quickness, power and defense give him the edge in my eyes.

Though I can't say I'm totally confident, I predict Rigondeaux drops Donaire at some point in this fight, and he wins a unanimous decision.

Follow me, because I love boxing and you do too.

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The year is only a little more than a quarter gone by and already boxing fans have seen some tremendous action. Undefeated featherweight star Mikey Garcia got the year rolling in January when he turned in an eye-opening performance against the tough veteran, Orlando Salido, knocking him down three times and taking away his WBO belt via a one-sided technical decision. 

In March, Bernard Hopkins broke his own record, winning yet another world title at 48. The week after that, Timothy Bradley and Ruslan Provodnikov fought a 12-round war for the ages, and two weeks after that, Mike Alvarado beat Brandon Rios in a fight that was as great as it was expected to be and only left fans anxious to see a rubber match.

On the business side of the sport, the big story last weekend was Bob Arum and Top Rank trying to open up the huge Chinese market with promising Olympic star Zou Shiming. But for diehard fans following the day-to-day scene, the real story was 22-year-old Juan Francisco Estrada outworking the highly rated Brian Viloria to capture his WBO belt. 

Even though it was cast as second-fiddle to a four-round debut, the Estrada-Viloria fight had implications for the pound-for-pound rankings.

Estrada's last fight before Viloria was a not-very-close unanimous decision loss to undefeated junior flyweight sensation Roman Gonzales. Estrada's only other career loss was an eight-rounder to current 115-pound belt-holder Juan Carlos Sanchez. 

It's been a great ride for boxing fans. And yet, everything so far has just been a warm-up. Because this weekend, we finally get to the big one, the biggest fight of the year to date, and the fight that has the potential to end up being the most important fight of 2013.

On Saturday night, April 13, at New York City's historic Radio City Music Hall, two-time Olympic gold medalist and WBA super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (11-0, 8 KOs) will face pound-for-pound star and WBO champion Nonito Donaire (31-1, 20 KOs). The fight will be broadcast live on HBO.

Donaire is currently ranked between No. 3 and No. 5 on nearly every pound-for-pound list in the world. You can make a compelling case for him as a No. 1 or 2. After losing his second professional fight, Donaire has waged a relentless campaign of domination from flyweight up to junior featherweight. 

He hasn't been in a competitive fight in over six years (Ruben Garcia's 115-112 for Vazquez: worst card ever), and his left hook is the most feared punch in the sport. He's used it to knock multiple champions out cold.

Donaire is the one high-level boxer who I consistently see other high-level boxers legitimately intimidated or cowed by. You really don't see that often in real life. By the time a fighter gets to the level where he's fighting on big stages, he is a proven warrior—taking punches and staying in close to serious leather is not something he is shy about.

But Donaire is just so explosive, and so creative and unorthodox in his attacks, that high-level boxers really do consistently get in the ring with him and seem to have a moment of "What I have I got myself into?"

Omar Narvaez came all the way from Argentina with an undefeated record, got just a taste of Donaire's speed and power early on and said, "No thank you." He spent the rest of the fight crouched behind a high guard shell. 

When Donaire fought Toshiaki Nishioka last July, the Japanese star fought very cautiously in the early rounds, as if taken off guard by Donaire in person. 

Even among world-class talent, Donaire is special. He has the combination of explosive athleticism and spacial intelligence that make a fighter almost exquisitely dangerous. 

So it is exciting every time he fights. And as good as he is, it isn't impossible to imagine him losing. He has certain defensive flaws that he covers up with his catlike agility, but he only fights extremely talented opponents, so it's not impossible to imagine a smart, determined foe executing a perfect game plan against him.

Still, it is rare to see a fighter of Donaire's caliber pitted with another fighter who truly seems to be his potential match. In Rigondeaux, plenty of smart boxing fans expect to see just that. 

The southpaw Rigondeaux appears to be at least close to even with Donaire in terms of athleticism and speed. Like the Filipino Flash, he carries serious power in both hands.

But even more intriguing is the fact that the former amateur Cuban standout will truly be able to test Donaire when it comes to ring intelligence. Rigondeaux is also a master of distance and angles.

He might be able to press the offense against Donaire in a way that nobody ever has.  

Rigondeaux's life story already reads like the pitch for a movie. The greatest amateur boxer of his generation, Rigondeaux escaped a communist dictator by motorboat, and now, just 12 fights into his professional career, he finds himself in the year's biggest fight to date. 

There was a time last year, when this fight was first being talked about, that Donaire expressed a lack of enthusiasm, doubting a boxer with Rigondeaux's professional experience was ready to face a fighter at his level. 

But since signing the fight, Donaire has expressed more respect for Rigondeaux's talent. On a media call I participated in yesterday, Donaire said:

The more I watch him, the more he seems worthy...not only does he have speed and power, he's tough mentally...he has the ability to see punches, to be intelligent...the more I see, the more I'm impressed.

Donaire said he had been less than impressed with Rigondeaux's split-decision victory over Ricardo Cordoba in November of 2010. But Rigondeaux has been a wrecking ball since, stopping Willie Casey, Rico Ramos and Teon Kennedy and beating Robert Marroquin by one-sided decision, and Donaire said that "if the (Abner) Mares fight couldn't get done" then Rigondeaux was "obviously the guy."

Donaire, of course, was as disappointed as the booing fans when Narvaez refused to engage with him during his Madison Square Garden debut in October of 2011. That was supposed to be the rising star's triumphant Big Apple debut. 

This time, he returns to Manhattan to fight in Radio City Music Hall, only the second boxer to headline there in the famous venue's long history. Bob Arum announced on the media call that they were expecting a sellout. He said the place would be full of New York Knicks and Giants. 

And this time, Donaire should have an opponent who will give him the kind of fight that will live up to the billing. "It might be a chess match," Donaire stated on the call, "but we're both offensive fighters. We're both aggressive."

For his own part, Rigondeaux added:

In this fight, I will try to engage. I want to give the fans the fight they want to see. Nonito is an aggressive fighter and I will be aggressive, too.

Rigondeaux and Donaire are both A-level offensive punchers and A-level counterpunchers. They both control distance and routinely outmaneuver opponents in order to create deadly angles of attack.

Both of these guys have the ability to knock each other out. 

But ultimately, I think both fighters are too smart to get caught by a one-punch shot. I think what we will see is a tactical war, with both fighters willing to take risks in order to deliver damage, resulting in a steady fireworks display of explosive exchanges.

In a fight like this, I usually come down on the side of the more technically traditional fighter. I think Rigondeaux is the more solid defensive fighter and getting hit less when trading is a big advantage.  

But it's hard for me to look past the element of experience. For all of Rigondeaux's amateur accolades, those were all three-round fights, fought under a radically different scoring system.

There's no question Rigondeaux has adjusted quickly to the pro game. But he has never been in the ring with a fighter as talented as Nonito Donaire, certainly not for 12 long rounds. 

When I asked Donaire about the experience factor yesterday, he said:

If it comes down to us being evenly matched in terms of speed and power and tactical ability, I think the experience will be an ace in my back pocket...to help me push through.

Still, if one thing has become clear about the former Cuban amateurs in recent years, it is that you just can't measure them on the same learning curve you'd use for your standard prospect or contender. Guillermo Rigondeaux might not have been a professional for that long, but he has been preparing for this kind of showcase for his entire life. 

"I have great respect for Nonito," Rigondeaux said. "What he's done speaks for itself. But I believe I belong with him."

Briggs Seekins is a Featured Boxing Columnist. Follow him on Twitter at #Briggsfighttalk.

The sweet science never lacks true excitement, but there’s no denying the shortage of marquee matchups in recent months.

Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather will probably never face off in the ring, but the boxing world has an opportunity to witness an April 13 fight that could prove to be even more exciting.

Nonito Donaire and Guillermo Rigondeaux are slated for a massively appealing HBO-televised bout on Saturday from Radio City Music Hall. The budding superstars are two of the most electrifying fighters on the planet, and each will have a lot to prove when they square off.

Donaire (31-1) is the most complete boxer at the Super Bantamweight division, mixing the technical skills and knockout power to hang with anyone at 122 pounds. He has won 62.5 percent of his fights by knockout, including a December drubbing of Jorge Arce that ended with a third-round knockout blow.

After winning two titles in 2012 and Fighter of the Year honors, Donaire is an unquestioned star with the potential to fill the void that will likely soon be left by his fellow Filipino superstar. One of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, finding a matchup worth watching for Donaire probably wasn’t an easy task.

It happened, though, and boxing fans should be incredibly happy.

The 32-year-old Rigondeaux (11-0) hasn’t earned the same accolades as Donaire at the professional level, but his exploits as an amateur fighter were extremely impressive. The Cuban earned two gold medals in the Summer Olympics (2000, 2004) and continues to dominate at 122 pounds with some of the most crisp technique in the sport.

With a perfect blend of agility, quickness, power and technique, there isn’t a better fighter to pair with Donaire in a prime-time bout. The only problem will be predicting a winner.

Both fighters have the well-rounded skill set to present few advantages for their opponent. Even with the knockout power (and stunning left hook) to end a fight in the early rounds, neither has shown enough weakness to be considered an underdog in this fight, and there’s a good chance it goes the distance with both fighters still standing.

This bout is exactly what boxing needs. For the sport to continue to thrive, new faces have to emerge to replace aging stars like Pacquiao and Mayweather. It also helps that those faces are willing to put their records and reputations on the line to give fans what they want to see.

An early candidate for Fight of the Year, this showdown will certainly be one to watch. 

50 Cent's most prized asset in his venture as a boxing promoter is Yuriorkis Gamboa, hence his recent search for a big money superfight. That super fight was supposed to be against Adrien Broner.

Broner has recently declared himself a welterweight and will move up two divisions to face Paulie Malignaggi in June.

Since Gamboa is way too short to be a welterweight at a whopping 5'5", it's best he stay at super featherweight as there's another superfight coming his way in the form of Nonito Donaire.

Donaire is currently finishing his reign at junior featherweight by facing Guillermo Rigondeaux on April 13. Should Donaire emerge victorious, he has stated to Boxing Scene that he will move up to featherweight.

That's one division below Gamboa, and unlike the plentiful list of contenders at junior featherweight that Donaire chewed through in almost one year, the featherweight division is barren.

After subtracting friendships (WBO champ Mikey Garcia) and victims of boxing politics (Abner Mares and Daniel Ponce De Leon), longtime WBA champ Chris John is the only option left.

Though Chris John hasn't flown to fight in the U.S. in years, he has shown a willingness to fight outside his home country of Indonesia in neighboring countries as far as Singapore or even Australia.

With Donaire's promoter Top Rank holding a fight card on April 6 in Macau, China, they're clearly trying to get into the Asian market, hence a John vs. Donaire card in August is quite possible and even likely.

With that said, Gamboa is the mandatory challenger to WBA super featherweight champ Takashi Uchiyama. Uchiyama may be a tough opponent, but he's never faced anyone as fast or elite as Gamboa.

Uchiyama fights again in May, but Gamboa can face him in the fall or maybe even on the same card as John vs. Donaire later in the year just to hype an eventual showdown with the winner.

Gamboa's promoter 50 Cent has a good working relationship with Top Rank, as exemplified by Gamboa's last fight being on the Pacquiao vs. Marquez IV undercard.

Donaire is a fighter who is making his career by racking up championships in steadily higher and higher weight classes.

If 50 Cent and Gamboa are patient, they'll win Uchiyama's belt and cash in on the moment when Donaire moves up to a weight that's higher than he can handle.

Follow me on Twitter @justindavidtate.

Abner Mares will surrender his junior featherweight title and move up to the featherweight division after his dream fight with superstar Nonito Donaire fell through the cracks after negotiations (per ESPN).

Even though a record $3 million payday was offered to Donaire, the Filipino champ and his promoters, Top Rank, turned down the hefty sum.

This will continue the unfortunate trend in boxing, where top fighters in a division do not meet in the ring due to failed negotiations. Although not as big as a possible Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao bout, a Mares-Donaire fight is just as important.

Donaire (32-1, 20 KOs) and Mares (25-0-1, 13 KOs) have been two of the most exciting fighters over the past few years and seemed to be on a collision course to meet in the ring. Now with Mares moving up in weight, a Mares-Donaire bout is just a fantasy for now.

If the two fighters continue to win as most expect they will, it may take for Donaire to move up to the featherweight division along with successful negotiations to land the fight the boxing world was hoping to see sometime in 2013, despite Mares saying otherwise.

Mares told ESPN.com:

I want to say that I am still open to fighting at 122 to make the fight with Donaire. I know Top Rank said after his fight is done on April 13 that they are willing to negotiate. I hope that's the case. If it is, and they want to do the fight at 122, I am more than open to it. Or we can do it at 126. Either way.

Sure Mares may say that now, but once he becomes comfortable at 126 pounds , he may think again about moving back down in weight meeting Donaire at 122 and demand Donaire move up to 126 pounds to fight him at his new weight class.

This development could open a new set of excuses from both corners, something that plauged the Mayweather-Pacquiao negotiations as well.

Fans can only hope that the Mares and Donaire camps learn from the immense letdown of Mayweather and Pacquiao never coming to terms to fight and do the right thing and give the boxing world what is sure to be an all-out brawl between Mares and Doniare sometime in the next couple of years

Nonito Donaire vs. Abner Mares is a fight that boxing fans have wanted to see for quite some time now. It's a great matchup between two talented fighters that's almost guaranteed to be a great action fight. 

However, due to the ongoing Cold War between promoters Golden Boy and Top Rank, the fight has yet to come to fruition. 

A couple of days ago, Golden Boy, via Boxingscene.com, released a copy of this contract, which specifies everything from gloves to meal stipends to airfare. In other words, it's a legitimate legal document that's offering Top Rank $3 million for the services of Donaire for just this one fight. 

It puts Top Rank and Donaire in a tough position, especially if they don't want the fight. 

If they turn the fight down, Golden Boy and Mares now have the ability to say that they sent a real, big-money offer to Top Rank—an offer that was even hand signed by Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer, only to have it rejected for seemingly no reason. 

There's no fight out there for Donaire that will make him even close to the amount that he'll make fighting Mares. And it's a fight that—if it's staged in California—will draw considerable public interest and a large live gate as well, further increasing its lucrativeness. 

So, with a contract in place and with Donaire and Top Rank looking like they'll rebuff once again, the question has to be asked: Is Donaire afraid of Mares? 

Why else would he and Top Rank turn down such a big offer? 

I think that on a personal level, a fighter-to-fighter level, Donaire isn't afraid of Mares. Mares is a terrific fighter, but Donaire has tons of experience and has been up against top fighters before. It's unlikely for this reason that he fears Mares. 

What's more likely the case is that it's a combo of Bob Arum not wanting to do business with Golden Boy and his fear that Donaire—one of his biggest-money fighters—could potentially lose and cost him a lot of money down the line. 

A lot of Top Rank's top-earning boxers have lost recently, such as Manny Pacquiao, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, and Juan Manuel Lopez, just to name a few. Arum probably is afraid to risk another top fighter of his losing, which would hurt his earning potential. 

Hopefully, they'll come to their senses and make the fight.

But as we've seen in boxing, what makes sense for the fans isn't always necessarily the choice that the promoters ultimately make. 

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