By Chris Williams: 31-year-old WBA Super World featherweight champion Nonito Donaire (33-2, 21 KOs) knows his fight against Nicholas Walters (24-0, 20 KOs) will end by knockout this Saturday night HBO Championship Boxing from the StubHub Center, in Carson, California, USA.
Donaire knows that one of them will be getting knocked out. He just doesn’t if it’ll be him or Walters. This is a truly tossup fight and Donaire is the first to admit it. He acknowledges that he’s not as hungry as the 28-year-old Walters because he’s already accomplished more than him, but he still wants the win to keep his career moving forward.
“This is going to end in a knockout. I will go into the ring and do my best,” Donaire said.
Donaire didn’t sound nearly as confident as the 5’8” Walters, who is brimming with confidence following his easy 5th round knockout win over Vic Darchinyan last May in Macao, China.
Walters fought Darchinyan on the same card as Donaire’s fight against Simpiwe Vetyeka. And while Donaire struggled to defeat Vetyeka by a 5th round technical decision, Walters dominated Darchinyan in the process of knocking him out in 5 rounds.
“If Donaire isn’t right, he’s going to get knocked out,” Walters said earlier today. “Maybe five rounds, maybe less. Not sure yet. To me he’s just another fighter. I’ve got to move him out of the way. I’ve got to find a way. I think I’m the bigger fighter and the more intelligent fighter. I have a lot of respect for him as a fighter, but it’s my time. I know he’s saying it’s his time, but it’s my time. This is going to be a gift for all of the boxing fans.”
Donaire feels that his own punching power will make up the difference for the power that Walters has going for him, but I’m not too sure about that. Walters is not only strong, but he’s also a very good defensive fighter. Walters is a natural featherweight, not a fighter who started his career out at super flyweight and moved up from division to division until arriving at featherweight.
At today’s media workout, Donaire did not look quick on his feet. He looked heavy, slow and not as springy as he once did. I don’t think Donaire has the foot speed that he several years ago, and without he’s very likely going to get picked apart by Walters.
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