Nonito Donaire vs. Jorge Arce

Nonito Donaire takes on Jorge Arce in Houston, Texas on Saturday, December 15th in a fight that can be seen on HBO. Donaire is 30-1 in his career with 19 knockouts while Arce is 61-6-2 with 46 knockouts. Let’s take a look at this fight that has Donaire heavily favored in boxing odds.

On paper this matchup between Donaire and Arce seems to be a mismatch as Donaire is younger, more talented and he is the current WBO super bantamweight champion. Arce comes into the fight confident, even though he is the underdog. “I am sure that I will knock him out. … I fight better, with more confidence and with more desire when I'm the underdog.” Arce said, “And on this occasion it will be no different.” Arce has proven in the past that he can be a dangerous underdog as he defeated Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. in May of 2011. The problem for Arce is that Donaire is even better than Vazquez.

The only danger for Donaire in this fight is if he comes into the bout overconfident and unprepared. That doesn’t seem likely, especially against an opponent like Arce that will come at him hard and fast. Because Arce won’t back down this fight probably won’t go the distance as Donaire has enough power to end this one early. It would probably be a good idea for Donaire not to go the distance in this one and leave the fight in the hands of the judges. With the fight taking place in Houston there is no question that most of the fans in attendance will be cheering for the Mexican fan-favorite, Arce. Donaire is simply stronger, faster and more talented than Arce so it is hard to see this fight going to a decision.

While this fight is pretty much a mismatch, it should be entertaining for as long as it lasts. There is always the chance that Arce could get lucky and land a big shot but more likely is that Donaire continues to pound away and eventually get the knockout.