No takers against Donaire

UNLIKE in the recent Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez 4, nobody seems to have placed a bet—not even a  very friendly one—on the Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire Jr.-Jorge Arce fight set today at 11 a.m. Manila time at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

I am no boxing specialist but I know why this is so. The fight is so lopsided in favor of Donaire, current WBO super bantamweight champion, that nobody will throw his money away on the Mexican challenger.

“Donaire is the overwhelming pick,” confirmed the real boxing expert, lawyer Ed Tolentino, who is considered by many as the most insightful boxing analyst.

“The Flash just has too many skills against Arce. It’s a case of ‘pick your poison.’ Arce’s brawling style is tailor-made for the wily Donaire. The Flash will be like a wily matador taming a wild bull with grace. ”

“Make no mistake, Donaire can also hold the bull by the horns if necessary,” he added.

Considering such a scenario, is a knockout likely to happen?

“I think it would be more of a TKO,” was Ed’s swift reply. “Arce easily gets cut. I see Donaire handing him a steady beating before the referee exercises fistic euthanasia (mercy killing) and stops the fight.”

Well, I hope Nonito’s right knuckles  don’t get broken, fractured or bloodied again from all that anticipated incessant punching.

By the way, victorious JuanMa is expected to grace the Toyota Center in Houston today to root for his countryman.

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It’s all water under the bridge now, but I just had to ask Ed why none of the local media experts, not even him, gave Marquez a ghost of a chance in  his fourth showdown with Pacquiao at the MGM  Grand in Las Vegas last week.

Ed said it was because everybody wanted Pacquiao to win over Marquez.

“And he seemed to be on his way, until he got caught.”

“I did say in a television interview before the fight that I was not in favor  of Pacman fighting Marquez again. They know each other so well that it was only a matter of time before Marquez finally gets his due. I also said I wasn’t impressed with Pacman’s training regimen,” he said.

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The tall, tanned lady soccer player immediately caught her attention, recalled Ateneo freshman student  Daniella, who watched the Ateneo-La Salle UAAP game at the Ateneo football field in Diliman early this week.

“She stood out from the rest of the team because she’s tall and she’s pretty even from a distance. And she’s a good player. Very aggressive,” said Daniella  who got curious when she saw the name “Romero” etched at the back of her blue and white uniform.

After some inquiry, Daniella found out that the young girl’s name is Milka and she is the daughter of La Salle alumnus Mikee Romero, owner of the PBA’s Globalport team. Milka is co-captain of the team, a star player and vital cog of the Lady Eagles.

The Lady Eagles remain unbeaten in three games (two wins, one draw), and, like their male counterparts, currently lead in the team standings.

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“Yes, that’s my daughter. She’s the little girl I used to take to PBL games. She’s now 19 and is a third year Management Economics honor student,” confirmed  proud father Mikee. “Ateneo sports director Ricky Palou told me the academe is optimistic the Lady Eagles could win their very first UAAP football championship this season.”

Of course I remember Milka. She has been playing football since she was in high school at Poveda. I was surprised that she was still playing the sport. I thought she might have lost interest somewhere along the way.

“She shares the same passion for football as I do for basketball. She has grown to a height of 5-8, maybe 5-9, barefoot,” said Mikee.

So what do you call a female Azkal, I asked him. Because if Milka accepts a slot in the national football team being offered to her, she will be one.