Vaunted left saves Donaire

ON THE brink of defeat, Filipino four-division world champion Nonito Donaire Jr.  turned to his signature punch to stop a rampaging foe and help lift the spirits of a grieving nation yesterday.

Trailing on two scorecards with the third a tie,  Donaire hammered out a technical knockout victory over Australian-Armenian Vic Darchinyan in the ninth round of their 10-round non-title featherweight clash at American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.

The US-based Donaire, known as the Filipino Flash, first sent Darchinyan almost crawling out of the ring with the same left hook that knocked him out  in their first meeting as flyweights in 2007.
Although the now  37-year-old Darchinyan easily beat the mandatory eight-count, he was never the same.

Donaire was whaling away at Darchinyan, who was trapped in a corner,  when referee Laurence Cole stepped in to stop the bout in 2 minutes 9 seconds of the ninth.

“It was the Philippines’ win,” said the jubilant Donaire after the come-from-behind victory that hiked his record to 32-2-0 (21 KOs).

“Thank you Lord for keeping me safe and (with a) sound mind. (Also for )Helping me see what needs to be done,” he added in his statement posted on Facebook just over an hour after the win.

Malacañang later sent a congratulatory message to him and Miss Universe bet Ariella Arida who placed fourth in Russia, for their feat amid the devastation wrought by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” in the Visayas last Friday.

Donaire, who raised his three-month old son Jarel in the ring after the win, said he finally heeded the call of his corner—which for the first time featured his estranged father Nonito Sr. along with trainer Robert Garcia—to throw more punches in the last two rounds.

Despite  a banged cheek that he said would require an X-ray, Donaire finally caught Darchinyan on the attack with his vaunted left followed by a right that dropped his foe on all fours.

The visibly groggy Darchinyan stood up at the count of six, but Donaire went for the kill with a staccato of blows before Cole intervened.

Although no title was at stake unlike  in their first meeting when Donaire wrested Darchinyan’s title, the win was a big career boost for Donaire, whose stature took a nosedive following a loss last April to unbeaten Cuban Guillermo Rigondeaux in their world super bantamweight unification title bout.

Darchinyan, who fell to 39-5-1  with 28 knockouts, jarred Donaire with vicious blows in the early rounds. He kept on punishing Donaire just before the bell rang for every round.

Darchinyan pressed the attack and Donaire looked in serious trouble in the seventh as he slowed down with blood on his nose

Entering the  penultimate round, two judges had Darchinyan winning at 78-74, while another had it even at 76.

In terms of punches thrown, Darchinyan had the edge (259-234) but Donaire landed more (80-52) according to figures from Compubox.