Donaire’s next foe a Pacquiao clone?
Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire. PHOTO BY ROY LUARCA
There’s the unsinkable Go Teng Kok with big damning blows aimed at the POC, which he has rechristened, Peping Organized Crime, crying to be heard.
There’s deluded Tim Bradley claiming Manny Pacquiao was scared of him—in a foul bid to gain a rematch with the Pacman—needing to be awakened and put in his proper place.
Nonito Donaire has a waiting fight but there was only faint interest in his wild chase of the Pacquiao kind of pound-for-pound greatness.
But yesterday Dong Secuya’s prestigious philboxing.com came out with details of Donaire’s next championship outing:
Date October 13, 2012
Site Home Depot Center in Carson , California
Titles IBF-WBO/WBC 122-pound championships
NONITO DONAIRE, 29-1 (18 KOs) Philippines/San Leandro, CA
TOSHIAKI NISHIOKA, 39-4-3 (24 KOs) Tokyo, Japan
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There was indeed considerable excitement when promoter Bob Arum initially said Donaire would next be squaring off with the rugged Jorge Arce of Mexico following his conquest of a tall African holder of the IBF 122-pound crown.
However, Scott Levinson, writing for Pro-Boxing.fans.com, said there should be equal interest in Donaire’s revised title bout.
“If this seems an unambitious fight for Donaire, that’s only because you are sleeping on Toshiaki Nishioka,” explained Levinson. “He beat Rafael Marquez at MGM Las Vegas and stopped Jhonny Gonzales in 3 in Mexico.”
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In fact, Levinson said, the relatively obscure Japanese, holder of the WBC 122-pound title, has the bigger merits to be able to box like Pacquiao.
“With all the parallels to Pacquiao, it’s interesting that it is actually Nishioka who resembles more the Filipino superstar in the ring.”
Nishioka, Levinson said, is a southpaw, his best punch the straight left, which he is able to lash out with great power.
Nishioka, also called Speed King, is on a run of 8 straight title-fight wins and hasn’t tasted defeat in over 8 years.
Nishioka is also an inch taller than Donaire.
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Explained Levinson: “Donaire had had size working in his behalf at 112 and 115 pounds but is now facing guys who are even a little bigger than him. Against Vasquez and Methebula and his two other 122-lb appearances, Donaire’s power didn’t seem to resonate as well as it did at lighter weights.”
There were blind claims here at home that Donaire did excellently in his last fight, although he failed to get the thumbs-up from his handler Robert Garcia, who promptly claimed “we could’ve have done better.”
This reporter likewise noted Donaire had the reason to feel displeased at his overall performance (against Methebula) as he also exposed a leaky defense, while struggling to bring his firepower into the 122-lb division.”
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Of course, Nishioka, already 36, is facing Donaire, 29, after a year-long lay-off.
The Japanese star may no longer be at his peak, but there’s every reason to believe the two top guys would be at their best.
“With Donaire boxing from an orthodox stance and Nishioka being a southpaw, both men should be able to land their straight power shots,” noted Levinson. “Nishioka’s left might be better than Donaire’s straight right. They match up evenly in size.”
He said everybody should expect a violent fight with a lot of offense.
“I see Nishioka being able to land that straight left, which will lead to some buckled knees and maybe even a knockdown or two. The rounds Nishioka takes will be very clear. On the other round, Donaire edges Nishioka with his superior all-around skjlls and ring generalship.”
