NONITO DONAIRE JR. may not be the next Manny Pacquiao, but that isn’t stopping him—or promoter Bob Arum—from trying, which is why Donaire will be in New York on Saturday night plying his trade.
Despite the fact there are far more Filipino fight fans on the West Coast than in New York, Arum is bringing Donaire to The Theatre at Madison Square Garden (aka the small room) to risk his World Boxing Council-World Boxing Organization bantamweight titles against undefeated Omar Narvaez with two things in mind—to win those belts back; and to win new fans by belting out Narvaez.
“A lot of people ask me why am I bringing Nonito Donaire to New York at Madison Square Garden and they point out there are over 2 million Filipinos that live in the Los Angeles area and I tell them Filipinos live all over the United States,” Arum said last week. “There are about 400,000 Filipinos living in the New York metropolitan area and, besides, there are a lot of great fight fans in New York, and this gives them the opportunity to see this phenomenal fighter, Nonito Donaire, up close and personal.
“For Nonito’s future, he is being exposed to the Big Apple, fighting an undefeated fighter. We are going to sell this place out [the Theater has 4,500 seats] so I’m looking forward to this card. I really believe Nonito will be a major star in boxing.
“Everyone that follows boxing knows he is a top pound-for-pound fighter, but our goal is to make him a superstar. To compare that with Manny [Pacquiao] misses the point. With Nonito, we have to do it Nonito’s way—dealing with who he is and what he represents. Nonito is as much American as he is Filipino because he has lived in this country for so long, and I think he was a candidate for the US Olympic team. Manny spends his life in the Philippines, so there is a difference there.
“We think that Nonito is such a great exciting fighter and such a pleasing personality that we expect as he rises in weight to 122 and 126 [pounds] and maybe above that he will become a major superstar in the sport. The goal, as in any fighter, is to make him a pay-per-view attraction. How long that will take? It is sort of silly to make a projection. It will come when it comes. When it comes it will launch him into the elite superstar category where he will make his money based on how many people follow him on pay-per-view. I wouldn’t say 2012 or ’13. We’ll know when it is time to make the move. We can’t put artificial projections in the way of getting to the goal we want to get to.”
The goal Donaire wants to get to is the point of Narvaez’s chin, for it is there that he will best exhibit his wares. Donaire (26-1, 18 knockouts) comes to New York off a startling second-round knockout of well-respected former champion Fernando Montiel in a fight that shouldn’t have lasted as long as it did. He is an explosive puncher for a little man, the kind of guy Pacquiao once was before he began leap-frogging boxing’s weight classes leaving wreckage behind him.
“The cannon that Nonito has, not even all of the elite fighters have it,” said trainer Robert Garcia. “You can be an elite fighter and not have that cannon. He sees the punches. He studies the opponents inside the ring and feels what’s coming and he already knows what he’s going to come back with.
“Montiel was landing a few body shots, but Nonito was doing that on purpose to time that moment and it landed, but not every fighter has that talent. You can be called the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world and not have that talent. Few fighters have it but Nonito is one of them. He is blessed to have it and takes advantage of it and he called it before the fight. He said that was the way it was going to end and two rounds later, we saw it.”
Now Donaire is hoping to show New York that his cannons are always loaded while following the blueprint Pacquiao created, a concussive plan that began with his destruction of Montiel and he hopes will continue in his first visit to boxing’s biggest stage.
“To be at Madison Square Garden…the list of fighters who have fought there is historical,” Donaire said last week. “It is an honor to be fighting in Madison Square Garden. It is going to be very exciting and our goal is to get out there and entertain and to show the people where I am, like Jack Dempsey did and those old fighters—the old Italian fighters, the old Irish fighters and the old Jewish fighters. I have watched them all and it is incredible that I will be there. We’re going to put our heart and soul into this and give everything that I’ve got.”
Donaire’s problem, if he has one, will be that unlike Montiel, Narvaez is a boxer who scores with movement and an understanding of the geometry of the ring. He is not someone who will wade in looking to exchange bombs, as Montiel was more than ready to do. That creates a different problem, one that could make his East Coast arrival more challenging in some ways than his showdown with Montiel appeared to be.
“It is definitely tricky,” Donaire said. “It’s like a chess match with me…if you make a false move, or an error in trying to hit me, make sure you get your hands where they are supposed to be or I will make you pay. That’s the bottom line with me right now…my power has increased tremendously. The fight can end in one punch.
“I always believe my power is enough to change the fight regardless of how many rounds it is. I have said it over and over that the most satisfying victory is a knockout victory.”
Especially in Manhattan.
Haye acting up again
Former cruiserweight champion and heavyweight belt holder David Haye announced at his south London gym last week that he was retiring from boxing at 31 to launch a career as an actor. A lot of people would say he was always more actor than boxer.
Haye was a moderately talented cruiserweight who unified the WBC, World Boxing Association and WBO cruiserweight titles by stopping Enzo Maccarinelli three years ago, a win that launched him toward the WBA portion of the heavyweight title despite the fact Maccarinelli never had a signature victory.
The “Hayemaker” went on to outpoint plodding Nikolai Valuev to take away the WBA portion of the scattered heavyweight title, then beat an aging John Ruiz in his last fight and journeyman Englishman Audley Harrison in a local brawl before running like a thief to survive 12 horribly lackluster rounds against Wladimir Klitschko in what he said was his final act as a boxer. One could argue it was also his first as an actor, because he didn’t act like a fighter that night, he fought like an actor.
But you have to hand it to him. He became a millionaire despite being one of the great frauds of his time, which in this sad era in the heavyweight division is saying something.
New sheriff at HBO
HBO Sports last week announced it had successfully poached Showtime executive Ken Hershman, luring him into becoming president of its operation beginning January 9, 2012. Hershman replaces departed the Ross Greenburg, who resigned in July after 33 years with HBO, the last 12 spent in ever more controversial fashion running the cable giant’s boxing program.
Greenburg’s close associations with Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions and fight manager Al Hayman left him and, by extension HBO, open to charges by rival promoters that the network had become a closed shop in which it became nearly impossible for other promoters to get their fighters on boxing’s biggest network. Hershman arrives with no such baggage, but rather with a reputation for innovation and a string of successes despite having one-fifth of the budget of HBO Sports.
It was Hershman who came up with the idea for the “Super Six” World Boxing Classic, a 168-pound tournament that—despite many problems over the past two years—has resulted in a interesting final between American Andre Ward and England’s Carl Froch. Hershman also wisely signed a deal with Canadian Lucian Bute, who many believe is the best 168-pounder in the world even though he was not included in the tournament. The logical assumption was Showtime would showcase Bute separately and then match him against the Ward-Froch winner.
Learning from the mistakes and problems of the Super Six, Hershman then set up a similar tournament in the bantamweight division, but limited it to four fighters and two sets of fights leading to one champion. It proved to be a format that worked well and gave the network some good fights for minimal cost.
While HBO Sports has been hemorrhaging money by overpaying for a number of unpopular matches the past few years, the final straw seemed to be losing the Pacquiao-Shane Mosley pay-per-view event to Showtime and Hershman in a one-off deal, although Greenburg denied it had anything to do with his decision to leave.
“Under the circumstances it’s the best move they could make,” boxing promoter and former HBO Sports executive Lou DiBella said. “They don’t have time to bring someone in to learn the business. He has credibility in the business.
“Ken knows the business and he knows who’s evil. He comes in with a running start. He’s a guy who takes chances and thinks out of the box a little bit.”
Rival promoter Arum was publicly noncommittal about the move, but privately ripped it, according to several boxing sources. Why that might be the cause was expressed by the remarks of a third promoter, who chose to remain anonymous to ensure he kept working relationship with both networks and his rivals.
“The fact Arum and Golden Boy both dislike him is a good thing for boxing,” the promoter said of the arrival of Hershman at HBO Sports. “They’re the bullies in the business. Ken understands that.”
Short jabs
Rhode Island’s Peter Manfredo Jr. will get what is probably his last big chance next month when he challenges WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on November 19 at Reliant Arena in Houston. Chavez (43-0-1, 30 KOs) will be making his first title defense after dethroning Sebastian Zbik last June and it will come against a tough guy who has never quite risen to the occasion when his biggest moments have come.
“If I lose this fight, I’m done,” Manfredo said.
Manfredo (37-6, 20 KO) became a cult hero for his performance during the original “Contender” reality TV show, losing his first fight before being allowed back into the tournament only to reach the finals, where a disputed decision went against him. He parlayed that into an 11-year pro career in which he rose all the way to a title shot against undefeated super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe in England. That night went badly, but Manfredo has pressed on, hoping for what he now has” one last chance at redemption. ...
Believe it or not, former welterweight champion Andrew “Six Heads” Lewis and Hector Camacho Jr. square off on December 17 in a junior middleweight bout in Georgetown, Guyana, Lewis’ native land. Lewis (23-4-2, 20 KOs) won a portion of the welterweight belt in 2001, made two defenses and then was KO’d in the fifth round nine years ago by Ricardo Mayorga. Lewis is 2-4-1 since and has fought only sporadically. He is coming off a three-year layoff. Meanwhile, Camacho (53-4-1, 28 KOs) hasn’t fought since he quit against James Leija in 2001. Guyana sounds like a good place for this fight. ...
Promoter Don King has contracted something called WealthTV to serve as the outlet for a Nov. 5 card from the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Fla., with cruiserweight champion Guillermo Jones (37-3-2, 29 KOs) of Panama defending against Mike Marrone (20-3, 15 KOs). Don’t know what WealthTV is, but it will probably have a little less wealth after dealing with King.
“WealthTV is the latest in a long line of outlets that have come to me seeking to expand audience and market share through world championship prizefights,” King said in a statement. “I see this as a golden opportunity for people across the nation to see fights on WealthTV, just like people saw fights on ABC, CBS and NBC in yesteryear.”
ABC with Howard Cosell? WealthTV with Warren Buffet? OK.
In Photo: Nonito Donaire Jr. puts at stake his bantamweight titles.
