By Francisco Hernandez: One of the big fights of this year 2011 that can’t be missed is Fernando Montiel vs. Nonito Donaire. This fight is a million times better than the mismatch between catch-weight Pacquiao vs. paralyzed Mosley. I personally don’t believe all the media hype of how good Donaire is; on the contrary I think Donaire is a sheltered fighter who has been conveniently matched to win all his bouts easily with few exceptions. In one bout Donaire knocked down his opponent four or five times by merely touching him, that’s the type of soft opposition he has been bullying. But a fighter cannot remain sheltered forever because he risks becoming a non-entity; fans soon seek out more exciting fighters. Donaire now has no choice but to face top competition or disappear from the boxing universe.

While Nonito Donaire is constructed mostly from marketing strategies, Fernando Montiel on the other hand is a warrior forged in the fires of fighting for real. This fight reminds me of Maidana vs. Khan. Amir Khan like Donaire is mostly a product of marketing strategies while Marcos Maidana is just an honest fighter. The fight was stolen unashamedly from Maidana, but this will not happen to Fernando Montiel because he has more experience than Marcos Maidana. Montiel has the experience of twenty or more championship bouts.

Expect the referee to protect Donaire in this fight, but it will do Donaire no good, because Montiel will know how to go around the referee to land his jaw-crunching punches. Expect Donaire to run. Montiel will know how to strike mercilessly at a moving target. Expect Donaire to attempt to hold. Montiel will savage Donaire with painful inside punching. Donaire is going to take a terrible beating; all the marketing and protection in the world will not work against the power and experience of a real champion like Fernando Montiel.

Donaire fighting Montiel is like Amir Khan or Manny Pacquiao fighting Roberto Duran.