By Dave Lahr: Nonito Donaire (25-1, 17 KO’s) has been all smiles in the recent press conferences with WBC/WBO bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel (44-2-2, 34 KO’s) to help promote their February 19th fight at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Donaire, 28, almost looks cocky as if he thinks he’s got this fight in the bag already. It’s going to be a brutal awakening for Donaire on 2/19, when Montiel knocks the grin off of Donaire’s fast and bloodies and batters him around the ring in front of the packed Mandalay Bay arena.

Donaire hasn’t taken a lot of punishment during his career with the exception of the beating he took against Rafael Concepcion in 2009. I still remember the bellyaching being done by Donaire’s fans complaining about Concepcion being a little bit bigger than Donaire at the weigh-in for that fight, treating the small amount of weight as if Donaire was in there with a heavyweight rather than a skinny little bantamweight. The fact is Concepcion has nothing like same kind of power and strength that Montiel will be bringing into the ring on 219.

Donaire is going to have immediate problems with Montiel because this guy punches hard with both hands, not just one. Montiel also doesn’t leap forward and look to throw telegraphed shots like Vic Darchinyan did in his loss to Donaire in 2007. Supposedly that was Donaire’s best opponent during his career. I don’t believe that. I think Concepcion is the better fighter compared to Darchinyan, and we saw that when he beat up Donaire and reduced to him to a running lamb in their fight. Montiel will do the same thing, but even worse once he starts landing his shots.