INQUIRER Sports

CUBAO, Quezon City—Even with a painful left hand, IBF/IBO flyweight champion Nonito Donaire delivered the punch that knocked out Raul “Cobra” Martinez in the 4th round here at the Araneta Coliseum.

Donaire floored Martinez at 2 minutes and 42 seconds of the 4th round.

“He’s a real champion. I’m a big fan of him now,” Martinez said after the fight.

Donaire whose father was not able to watch him fight, said he felt a stinging pain in his left hand.

“My father will always be my father and I thank him because he got me where I am today,” Donaire said.

Martinez acknowledged that he was “not invincible,” when asked about the lessons he learned from the fight.