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THERE’S
more to Filipino world champions than Manny Pacquiao.
That was
proven recently after two Filipinos won championships in
a matter of less than a day and across 12 time zones
over the weekend.
Filipino-American Nonito Donaire Jr. won the flyweight
championship of the International Boxing Federation (IBF)
by pummeling a heavily favored opponent Saturday in
Connecticut. This, after Florante Condes escaped with a
split decision to take the IBF minimumweight crown hours
before in Indonesia.
It has
taken two decades for a Filipino to win either such
championships, which were last held by flyweight legends
Rolando Bohol and Dodie Boy Peñalosa in the 1980s, and
minimumweight bynames Eric Chavez in the same decade and
Manny Melchor later in the early ’90s.
Nicknamed the Filipino Flash, Donaire shocked the boxing
world as the promising 24-year-old annihilated the
seemingly invincible Vic “the Raging Bull” Darchinyan
inside five rounds at the Harbour Yard Arena Saturday in
Bridgeport City in Connecticut.
Donaire,
who hails from
San Leandro in
California
but traces his roots to Bohol and General Santos City,
dominated the whole fight with precision,
counterpunching and made the usually awkward Darchinyan
look clumsier.
Donaire
lives in
San Leandro, California, but
occasionally visits his relatives in
General Santos City,
hometown of current Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao,
the country’s last world champion.
Donaire
started to control the bout right in the first round as
he dictated the tempo by hitting Darchinyan with
well-placed combinations and counter rights coupled with
splendid footwork.
“Alam
na namin na sa una pa lang kaya na talaga ni Jun
Jun,” said Donaire’s father and trainer Nonito Sr. “Timing
lang ang hinanap namin at hindi din kami nagpabaya sa
depensa.”
It was
the same story in the next two rounds as Donaire
frustrated Darchinyan. The Armenia-born fighter based in
Australia failed to land his trademark wild but vicious
punches.
“Sa
fourth round tinamaan ’din si Jun Jun ng
hook ni Darchinyan pero nakalabas naman agad
siya at nabigyan pa niya ng counter,” added Donaire
in an overseas call interview.
By the
fifth canto, it was only a matter of time before Donaire
would finish Darchinyan, who was already losing focus as
he has never faced a fighter of the Filipino’s caliber.
“I can
see his punches and that made it easy for me to throw my
own shots,” said the younger Donaire in a separate
interview.
True
enough, Donaire finally saw an opening after Darchinyan
threw a roundhouse left punch that opened up the
Australian’s defense.
“I said
yesterday that one punch can make the difference between
me and him. I fought guys who are heavier so I timed my
shots,” said Donaire.
And the
one punch that will probably be the defining moment of
his career was a well-timed left hook that hit
Darchinyan smack into his jaw that floored the Aussie
brawler flat on his back.
The
31-year-old Darchinyan tried to stand but fell back into
the canvass until the referee finally reach the count
and ended what many described as a fearsome reign of the
now-dethroned champion.
“I am
okay … but I am very disappointed,” Darchinyan said
after the fight. “I got caught with a great shot and
these things happen in boxing. Of course I want a
rematch.”
Donaire
also took away the fringe International Boxing
Organization title of Darchinyan.
“I came
in here as an underdog, nobody believed in me but I did
it. He has heavy hands but my brother said he [Darchinyan]
isn’t as tough as he thinks he is. I shut him up but he
still won’t admit that I beat him,” Donaire said.
Many
felt it was a sweet payback for the Donaire family as
Darchinyan once inflicted Junior’s older brother Glenn a
crushing defeat.
Despite
that win over his brother, Donaire said he was not
really thinking of getting back at his brother’s
tormentor.
“So much
for revenge or anything,” Donaire said. “Glenn was
really doing well with our game plan but unfortunately
he broke his jaw. This is not much of a revenge for me.
I’m just happy and [prepared] for this fight.”
There’s
still a lot to see about Donaire, who improves his
record to 18-1, with 11 KOs, but a few successful
defenses could merit him a place alongside ’80s ring
icons Bohol and Peñalosa.
Peñalosa
was an IBF light-fly king before he went up the 112-lb
ranks. He won the flyweight championship in February
1987 against Hi Sup Shin in the Korean’s home country.
A year
later in January 1988,
Bohol reclaimed
for the country the same championship by beating another
Korean. Bohol retained the title in his first defense
four months later in May but eventually lost it in
November.
“It will
be such a pleasure and honor to give the Philippines our
first title [in years]. I’m overwhelmed right now to
think about it,” said Donaire before the fight.
Donaire
has not lost professionally since June 2001. He is
coming off a first-round stoppage against an unheralded
American only last May.
The
31-year-old Darchinyan also holds a victory over another
Filipino campaigner, Diosdado Gabi, who the erstwhile
champion stopped in the eighth round with a single punch
in March 2006.
Since
winning the crown from Colombian Irene Pacheco in 2004,
Darchinyan has defended the crown six straight times.
His record fell to 28-1 (22 knockouts).
*****
…Condes breaks world-title drought via
split verdict
 FLORANTE
CONDES snatched the International Boxing
Federation (IBF) minimumweight crown by outpointing
local boy Muhammad Rachman late Saturday night at the
RCTI TV in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Condes,
27, sealed a split verdict in a give-and-take bout after
he floored Rachman with two knockdowns, happening each
in the third and 10th rounds.
A
Binangonan resident, Condes was his usual assertive self
in the first three rounds as the backpedaling Rachman
had a hard time adjusting to the Filipino’s onrushing
style.
A hard
straight left by the southpaw Filipino floored Rachman
in the third round.
Sensing
that the crown was slipping away, Rachman started to
move in and exchanged blows with Condes in the fourth.
Rachman
did well from the fourth to the ninth rounds but again
visited the canvas in the 10th after getting hit by a
left hook.
Muhammad
Rois of
Indonesia
scored it, 117-113, for Rachman, while Salven Lagumbay
of the Philippines and Montol Suriyachand of Thailand
had similar 114-112 scores in favor of Condes.
Condes,
now 22-3-1 with 21 KOs, was confident of a victory on
the day he left for
Jakarta
Monday last week.
“I will
bring back the crown to the Philippines. It will be over
within eight rounds,” Condes said that time.
The
35-year-old Rachman drops his record to 61-6-5 with 31
KOs.
The
country had its finest moment in the division nearly two
decades ago when Filipino minimumweights Eric Chavez and
Manny Melchor held the same IBF belts.
In
September 1989, Chavez snatched the IBF crown as he
kayoed Nico Thomas, also an Indonesian, in the fifth
round at the Lokasari Hall in Jakarta.
Three
years later in September 1992, Melchor virtually exacted
revenge for Chavez as he took the crown away from
Sakkreerin via 12-round split decision win in Thailand.
Both Chavez and Melchor lost in their first title
defense.
Incidentally, it was the first world title by a boxer
born in the Philippines since Manny Pacquiao won the IBF
junior featherweight championship in 2003.
The last
championship by a boxer with Filipino roots was the
light-fly crown of the World Boxing Council (WBC) held
by Brian Viloria. Viloria, who was born in Hawaii to
Ilocano parents, was the 108-lb king of the WBC until he
lost it via unanimous decision in August 2006. |
