Bantamweight Discussion

[Philfy]

Thought I'd create a thread on one of the most loaded divisions. Plenty of talent here. One of the reasons this division is so great is because the guys aren't ducking each other. All of the top 8 fighters have all fought at least one other top 8 guy.

We've recently seen: Montiel v Hasegawa, Darchinyan v Agbeko, Perez v Mares and Cermeno v Moreno. If you throw Donaire into the mix, it becomes all the more intriguing.

Sadly I think we'll never see the rematch between Donaire and Darchinyan. It's a shame the promoters couldn't get over their differences. Vic is in the twilight of his career whilst Donaire (finally) seems to be moving on to bigger and better things. I'd love to see Vic land one final big fight, but it seems the fighters are all preoccupied with one another and Vic has gotten the shaft.

There has been some discussion about Donaire v Montiel and even Donaire v Vasquez Jr. Who would you take in those?

[ColWallace]

A mate who saw Donaire fight last weekend sent me this:

It blew my mind that Donaire fought as a southpaw against a southpaw for four entire rounds. Granted, he was less-than perfect as a southpaw but he still beat Marquez at his own game. Once he switched back to righty, though, you could see how fundamentally sound and educated he was. He has a deft propensity to read his opponents' strength and weakness and his use of angles is nothing short of impressive. I don't think he packs that much one-punch knockout power but he makes up for that with precision and timing - he catches opponents moving into his punch and counters them when they're off balance after they've missed a shot. If he's as effective doing what he does from one stance now, think about how devastating he'll be once he masters the southpaw stance and becomes a full-fledged switch-hitter. That assessment, of course might be premature because the only really good fighter on his resume thus far is Vic Darchinyian, who might have been custom-made for him style-wise in the first place. But I've got high hopes for him mainly because I think he's still capable of raising the level of his game immensely even at this stage of his career, just like Pac did in the mid '2000s.

[Philfy]

A mate who saw Donaire fight last weekend sent me this:

It blew my mind that Donaire fought as a southpaw against a southpaw for four entire rounds. Granted, he was less-than perfect as a southpaw but he still beat Marquez at his own game. Once he switched back to righty, though, you could see how fundamentally sound and educated he was. He has a deft propensity to read his opponents' strength and weakness and his use of angles is nothing short of impressive. I don't think he packs that much one-punch knockout power but he makes up for that with precision and timing - he catches opponents moving into his punch and counters them when they're off balance after they've missed a shot. If he's as effective doing what he does from one stance now, think about how devastating he'll be once he masters the southpaw stance and becomes a full-fledged switch-hitter. That assessment, of course might be premature because the only really good fighter on his resume thus far is Vic Darchinyian, who might have been custom-made for him style-wise in the first place. But I've got high hopes for him mainly because I think he's still capable of raising the level of his game immensely even at this stage of his career, just like Pac did in the mid '2000s.

All very good points. The idea of a switch hitting Pacquiao would give nightmares to many a boxer I'm sure.

I'm surprised Nonito stayed at 115 pounds for so long. He always looked pretty big compared to his opponents. I was always reading how he had to keep boiling himself down-sometimes losing up to 10 pounds a few days out from a fight. Probably not good for you in the long run.

He has the same height and reach as some feathers and lightweights, so it's inevitable he'll fill out and campaign around there one day.

[brently1979]

Thought I'd create a thread on one of the most loaded divisions. Plenty of talent here. One of the reasons this division is so great is because the guys aren't ducking each other. All of the top 8 fighters have all fought at least one other top 8 guy.

We've recently seen: Montiel v Hasegawa, Darchinyan v Agbeko, Perez v Mares and Cermeno v Moreno. If you throw Donaire into the mix, it becomes all the more intriguing.

Sadly I think we'll never see the rematch between Donaire and Darchinyan. It's a shame the promoters couldn't get over their differences. Vic is in the twilight of his career whilst Donaire (finally) seems to be moving on to bigger and better things. I'd love to see Vic land one final big fight, but it seems the fighters are all preoccupied with one another and Vic has gotten the shaft.

There has been some discussion about Donaire v Montiel and even Donaire v Vasquez Jr. Who would you take in those?

That was a killer fight dude.

[Philfy]

That was a killer fight dude.

That it was. Brutal left hook by Montiel to end proceedings. Hopefully Hasegawa can bounce back quickly.

Yhonny Perez v Joseph Agbeko was fantastic as well if you haven't seen that one. Very high intensity fight.

[jaskieee]

That it was. Brutal left hook by Montiel to end proceedings. Hopefully Hasegawa can bounce back quickly.

Yhonny Perez v Joseph Agbeko was fantastic as well if you haven't seen that one. Very high intensity fight.

Dont forget Mares-Perez, that was just as good however a decision going Mares' way would have been a more fitting ending.