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By Thomas Gerbasi - Saturday is coronation night for Nonito Donaire.
Pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao can’t fight forever, so the road has been paved and the stage set for a new star to ascend to the throne that will be vacated when the “Pac Man” leaves boxing. And with charisma, talent, and power, Donaire, a former flyweight and super flyweight champion, is ready to become the next idol of the boxing-rich nation of the Philippines.
The only one standing in the way of the 28-year old this weekend at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas is 31-year old Fernando Montiel.
It should bother the fighting pride of Los Mochis, Mexico that he’s an underdog to Donaire, but if it does, he’s not letting it show. It should annoy him that after 14+ years in the pro game that it’s taken this long for him to get a real taste of life outside of being a hardcore fan favorite, but he’s not worried about such matters. In fact, if not for the reality that he and Donaire will be punching each other in the body and face for 12 rounds or less tomorrow, you could call the two friends. Montiel does, and he will continue to do so after the fight is over.
“Outside of the ring we are friendly and are going to be friends,” he said in a recent media teleconference. “We have a lot of respect for each other. But inside the ring everything changes. We are very competitive. We both want to win. We both want to do our best. No mercy. You go in to win the fight and forget about everything else. When the fight is over you become friends again.”
It’s the mantra of a Mexican warrior, a source of pride for all fighters from another of the world’s boxing-rich nations. No mercy. War. Battle. They are all words or phrases that you must carry in your gloves and in your chest if you’re going to survive in this sport. One that isn’t thrown around too much though is adaptability. In this game, if you don’t change what’s not working, you’ll be run over and run out. [Click Here To Read More]
Pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao can’t fight forever, so the road has been paved and the stage set for a new star to ascend to the throne that will be vacated when the “Pac Man” leaves boxing. And with charisma, talent, and power, Donaire, a former flyweight and super flyweight champion, is ready to become the next idol of the boxing-rich nation of the Philippines.
The only one standing in the way of the 28-year old this weekend at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas is 31-year old Fernando Montiel.
It should bother the fighting pride of Los Mochis, Mexico that he’s an underdog to Donaire, but if it does, he’s not letting it show. It should annoy him that after 14+ years in the pro game that it’s taken this long for him to get a real taste of life outside of being a hardcore fan favorite, but he’s not worried about such matters. In fact, if not for the reality that he and Donaire will be punching each other in the body and face for 12 rounds or less tomorrow, you could call the two friends. Montiel does, and he will continue to do so after the fight is over.
“Outside of the ring we are friendly and are going to be friends,” he said in a recent media teleconference. “We have a lot of respect for each other. But inside the ring everything changes. We are very competitive. We both want to win. We both want to do our best. No mercy. You go in to win the fight and forget about everything else. When the fight is over you become friends again.”
It’s the mantra of a Mexican warrior, a source of pride for all fighters from another of the world’s boxing-rich nations. No mercy. War. Battle. They are all words or phrases that you must carry in your gloves and in your chest if you’re going to survive in this sport. One that isn’t thrown around too much though is adaptability. In this game, if you don’t change what’s not working, you’ll be run over and run out. [Click Here To Read More]
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