By Cliff Rold

A fight, at the most these days, lasts thirty six minutes with eleven extra for breathers.  A knockout, officially anyways, doesn’t take any more than ten seconds.  One precludes the other, the knockout shaving away from the possibility of thirty-six while giving the fan what they (not so deep down) paid to see.  Score the right knockout, shorten the right fight, and there is a lot of mileage to be gained.

But only so much. 

Nonito Donaire (23-1, 15 KO) has received a wealth of mileage out of the right knockout.  On July 7, 2007, he clocked then IBF-Flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan for one of the most memorable one-punch endings of recent years.  Ring Magazine regards him as highly as number four, pound for pound, in the world. 

It sounds better on paper than it has been off.  Ring’s is a debatable rating (and what fun would pound-for-pound discussion be if there weren’t any debate) but there would be no debate without that 2007 win.  Certainly Donaire, in terms of fistic achievement, has benefited more from the accomplishments of Darchinyan than his own since. 

Darchinyan went on to unify at 115, a regular headliner for Showtime.  In running through Dimitri Kirilov and Cristian Mijares, and holding his own in a Bantamweight distance loss to Joseph Agbeko, Darchinyan has remained in the discussion of the game’s elite.  He’s carried Donaire with him in name even as most missed him in form.   

This Saturday, Donaire makes only his second appearance on Showtime since, his other outings relegated to lightly seen in the U.S. pay-per-view shows.  He’ll open the telecast for Featherweight Juan Manuel Lopez in defense of an ‘interim’ WBA strap against Hernan Marquez (27-1, 20 KO), a solid enough foe but a foe coming off his first loss.

It’s at least a step up from a late sub opponent in his last fight, overmatched Strawweight Manuel Vargas.  The question which begs to be asked is how long the immensely talented Donaire goes without another opponent who can bring him more than the acclaim Darchinyan did and does.

Management and promotion issues after the Darchinyan contest derailed Donaire briefly; that didn’t help.  Since signing with Top Rank, he’s been a feature player on their pay TV shows along with the likes of Julio Cesar Chavez and Jorge Arce, an opportunity to stay relevant for the hardcore U.S. fan base along with the wildly appreciative Filipino boxing community.

At 112 and now 115 lbs., being relevant to those crowds may seem fine enough.  After all, outside the Darchinyan’s and Arce’s, it’s not like Jr. Bantamweight has been burning the ticket styles in the States.  Donaire is different.  A combination of personality, speed, and power, there was every reason to think three years after his to-date defining win he’d be a serious main event unto himself by now.

It just hasn’t turned out that way.  Vargas and Marquez type foes aren’t really the reason either.  There have been some impressive wins.  Moruti Mthalane lost a competitive affair on cuts in 2008 and has since gone on to win a belt at 112.  Raul Martinez was undefeated.

Those were good wins.

They just weren’t available to the widest audiences and the mileage, the momentum, of the Darchinyan win were at least partly squandered.  Many were hoping to see a Darchinyan rematch this summer but, reportedly in part because of issues about overseas television revenue, that didn’t happen.  Marquez alone isn’t going to set the wheels in hectic motion again.

Luckily, at only 27 years of age, momentum can be garnered again quickly.  In the 1990s, Felix Trinidad impressed with a Welterweight title win in 1993 and a 1994 campaign where he stopped an undefeated Oba Carr and Yori Boy Campas along with mauling veteran Hector Camacho.  Trinidad looked on the verge of superstardom.

The verge lasted awhile. 

Promotional battles and the inability to make big fights stalled Trinindad for heavy parts of four years, costing him a huge chunk of his prime.  He didn’t get back on track until 1999 with fights against Pernell Whitaker and Oscar De La Hoya.  The time he lost could never be regained but, ultimately, he still ended up a lock for the Hall of Fame.

Donaire isn’t a Welterweight and, in boxing, size matters.  There is no suggestion of Donaire being a Trinidad-level star, but he certainly has time to become someone other smaller men must, underline must, face to cash in.

Whispers of a rise to Bantamweight persist and, should he rise, Donaire has arguably the best Bantamweight in the world waiting.  Under a shared promotional banner, and with the shadow of Manny Pacquiao adding extra allure to any notable Mexico-Filipino clash, Donaire versus WBC/WBO 118 lb. titlist Fernando Montiel (41-2, 31 KO) could loom later in the year or early next.

It’s the sort of fight Donaire needs.  He’s a main event talent without a real main event right now.  Three years after reaching the verge, Donaire is still waiting for his push over the top.

Weekly Ledger

Cliff’s Notes… This whole ‘HBO dumped the Klitschko’s’ thing seems overstated.  Put a Klitschko in with David Haye or Tomasz Adamek and HBO is interested.  For most other matters, they have been hit or miss on the Heavyweight brothers for a couple years now…Only weeks away from the start of an unofficial Light Heavyweight Final Four (or three plus one considering Chad Dawson’s wins over Glen Johnson).  Starting with the Lightweight rematch between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz on July 31st, the sport is gearing up for a summer scorching all around…Yes, news of a possible Hugo Cazares-Omar Narvaez clash got a smile…Yuriorkis Gamboa-Elio Rojas is a good fight.  It’s also hilarious in terms of titles.  If Gamboa wins, he’ll be unified and thus a WBA “super” champ.  Chris John, despite never unifying any other belts with his WBA strap?  Also “super.”  Number of times Gamboa and John have fought?  The number is the same as the number of times sanctioning bodies should be taken seriously. 

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com