By Kirk Jackson: Nonito ‘The Filipino Flash’ Donaire, the former IBF Flyweight Champion and current WBA Super Flyweight Champion is an accomplished fighter inside the ring, and a gentleman outside the ring. Now residing in the San Francisco Bay Area, the talented fighter originally from the Philippines has amassed a professional record of 24-1 with 16 ko’s, and gained the respect of many die hard boxing fans and critics alike.
Under the Top Rank Banner and fighting under Showtime, you would think he would have a larger fan base. I guess Bob Arum is too caught up with trying to promote resident Super Star Manny Pacquiao and some of his other fighters. Promoting the likes of Pacquiao along with stars like Miguel Cotto, Kelly Pavlik, Juan Manuel Lopez and Antonio Margarito, Donaire has been left as a common face amongst the crowd. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. gets more attention, basically being promoted off his name alone because his boxing skills do not warrant such attention.
What is more disturbing is the a lot of the Filipinos fans I know that follow boxing, even in the Bay Area, seem to not know of or even care for Donaire. The impression I am left with is as long as they have Manny Pacquiao, they are satisfied. Many fail to realize there are other Filipino fighters besides Pacquiao. This isn’t to discredit or bash Pacquiao, perhaps this is just a testament to his star power, but there are some other fighters representing the Philippines that deserve some love too. Boxing could use another star anyways.
Donaire being such a complete fighter, currently recognized by the Ring Magazine, is ranked at #4 in the Pound for Pound standings. What makes him so appealing to boxing purists is his ability to switch styles effortlessly. He can fight orthodox or in a southpaw stance, can counter punch or go blow for blow, he possesses good footwork, great defense and movement, has good speed and has great patience to match inside the ring.
Perhaps one of the problems for Donaire is the lack of stars in his weight class. The only major star in his division in recent years was Vic Darchinyan, who since their fight in 2007 has moved up to Bantamweight. And with Donaire brutally stopping Darchinyan with Ring Magazine’s KO of the year in 2007, it looks less likely the 2 fighters will ever mix it up again.
To gain more attention and fanfare, Donaire could move up in weight from Super Flyweight to Bantamweight, where there are many challengers with a big enough name to garner some acclaim. Currently, that division is stacked with the likes of fellow Filipino fighter AJ Banal, Jorge Arce, Abner Mares, Fernando Montiel, Yonnhy Perez, Hozumi Hasegawa and the guy he has been chasing for a rematch Vic Darchinyan.
I’m sure Bob Arum could manage to market a fight against the likes of any of those fighters in that division. And even beyond Bantamweight, Donaire could possibly even go up to Super Bantamweight or even up to the Featherweight division.
I think a guy with his skill set, should be appreciated more and heralded as a major star in the sport of boxing. Not only does Donaire possess great boxing ability, he has a humble personality to match and it would be a shame if his talents weren’t recognized on a larger scale. Only time will tell if his star will shine bright and illuminate the stage, or if he will dimmer out and fade. Hopefully gains more notoriety, because who knows he may be gone in a flash.
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