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Paul Williams and Nonito Donaire Jr. are two of the finest pugilists in boxing. Both are consensus top tens in most publications' pound for pound lists. Both have incredible length and punching power for their weight classes. Williams also got that relentless "punches-in-bunches" fighting style while Donaire is a counter puncher extraordinaire. Unfortunately, both also share the same problem. At this stage in their careers, they may be to good for their own good.
How is that possible?
Well there is no such thing as being too good, but in the case of these two, they are both at the cusp of superstardom facing a similar road block. Nobody wants to fight them. By that, I meant, they are too big of a risk, yet financially not too rewarding for big named opponents to want to mess with.
Not too long ago, Williams was set and scheduled to fight Kelly Pavlik, until the popular Youngstown champion pulled out due to an alleged "hand injury". If you ask me, it could be more of a case of "duckery". Yes I made up my own word, get over it. Pavlik changed his plans and will now face "safer" opponent Miguel Espino instead while Williams is scheduled to fight Sergio Martinez a week prior. Doesn't quite make sense don't it?
Donaire on the other hand is set to return to the ring against Gerson Guerrero in Las Vegas on Feb. 13. Who? That's what I said. Since beating Vic Darchinyan in sensational fashion back in 2007, Donaire has struggled to lure in the big names like Montiel, Arce and Mijares to fight him. Rafael Concepcion, Raul Martinez, Moruti Mthalane and Luis Maldonado are all formidable opponents but sadly, none of them are captivating enough to truly elevate Donaire's popularity to the next level. The WBA super flyweight champ and currently number 6 in Ring Magazine's pound for pound list, is taking things in stride however. He believes his time will come and continues to prepare as if he is fighting the biggest fight of his life.
Fight fans need to speak up and be heard. The best boxers in the world are often the ones we haven't heard of. Take for example the career of Gerry Penalosa who at his prime was fighting for peanuts overseas against inferior competition and pretty much flew under the radar of mainstream boxing. Manny Pacquiao himself considers Penalosa his idol and after hitting the big time in the US, helped Penalosa land fights. And despite being in the tail-end of his career, Penalosa was still able to turn heads as he captured the WBO bantamweight title against Jhonny Gonzalez in 2008. It'll be a shame if we'd have to wait until Williams and Donaire to pass their primes until we see them in big fights.
What would Manny Pacquiao be without the Marco Antonio Barreras, Erik Moraleses and the Juan Manuel Marquezs that gave him a shot? As much as Mosley has been crying about not gettin an opportunity to fight Pacquiao and Mayweather who are on a collision course, why not give Williams a shot? As for Donaire, Montiel is fighting in the same card against another Filipino in Michael Domingo. I would have rather these two fought, but I wouldn't mind them facing each other next if they get past their respective assignments.
Check out The Boxing Truth Radio Show tonight at www.TheBoxingTruth.com or through the stream below. Special guest will be none other than Paul Williams himself.
Paul Williams and Nonito Donaire Jr. are two of the finest pugilists in boxing. Both are consensus top tens in most publications' pound for pound lists. Both have incredible length and punching power for their weight classes. Williams also got that relentless "punches-in-bunches" fighting style while Donaire is a counter puncher extraordinaire. Unfortunately, both also share the same problem. At this stage in their careers, they may be to good for their own good.
How is that possible?
Well there is no such thing as being too good, but in the case of these two, they are both at the cusp of superstardom facing a similar road block. Nobody wants to fight them. By that, I meant, they are too big of a risk, yet financially not too rewarding for big named opponents to want to mess with.
Not too long ago, Williams was set and scheduled to fight Kelly Pavlik, until the popular Youngstown champion pulled out due to an alleged "hand injury". If you ask me, it could be more of a case of "duckery". Yes I made up my own word, get over it. Pavlik changed his plans and will now face "safer" opponent Miguel Espino instead while Williams is scheduled to fight Sergio Martinez a week prior. Doesn't quite make sense don't it?
Donaire on the other hand is set to return to the ring against Gerson Guerrero in Las Vegas on Feb. 13. Who? That's what I said. Since beating Vic Darchinyan in sensational fashion back in 2007, Donaire has struggled to lure in the big names like Montiel, Arce and Mijares to fight him. Rafael Concepcion, Raul Martinez, Moruti Mthalane and Luis Maldonado are all formidable opponents but sadly, none of them are captivating enough to truly elevate Donaire's popularity to the next level. The WBA super flyweight champ and currently number 6 in Ring Magazine's pound for pound list, is taking things in stride however. He believes his time will come and continues to prepare as if he is fighting the biggest fight of his life.
Fight fans need to speak up and be heard. The best boxers in the world are often the ones we haven't heard of. Take for example the career of Gerry Penalosa who at his prime was fighting for peanuts overseas against inferior competition and pretty much flew under the radar of mainstream boxing. Manny Pacquiao himself considers Penalosa his idol and after hitting the big time in the US, helped Penalosa land fights. And despite being in the tail-end of his career, Penalosa was still able to turn heads as he captured the WBO bantamweight title against Jhonny Gonzalez in 2008. It'll be a shame if we'd have to wait until Williams and Donaire to pass their primes until we see them in big fights.
What would Manny Pacquiao be without the Marco Antonio Barreras, Erik Moraleses and the Juan Manuel Marquezs that gave him a shot? As much as Mosley has been crying about not gettin an opportunity to fight Pacquiao and Mayweather who are on a collision course, why not give Williams a shot? As for Donaire, Montiel is fighting in the same card against another Filipino in Michael Domingo. I would have rather these two fought, but I wouldn't mind them facing each other next if they get past their respective assignments.
Check out The Boxing Truth Radio Show tonight at www.TheBoxingTruth.com or through the stream below. Special guest will be none other than Paul Williams himself.
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