Nonito Donaire and The Monster

Published

5 years ago

November 5, 2019

The World Boxing Super Series 118lb tournament climaxes this Thursday in Saitama, Japan as the now fully-fledged wonderkid and local hero Naoya “The Monster” Inoue meets a man who essentially used to be him in the shape of ring veteran and Filipino legend Nonito Donaire. Whatever the outcome there will be tears in the far east come the final bell.

Donaire will recognize much of what awaits him in the opposite corner as he prepares for a monumental crescendo to a storied career. He will see an athletic, powerful, fast technician who can improvise across all styles and he will see some of what he himself used to be. Donaire was once the darling of the hardcore fan, a role Inoue has since embraced with relish. Small but devastating, these men toil in relative obscurity until something pushes them over the top and into the consciousness of the wider boxing public.

For Donaire it took an incredible championship tear-up running from flyweight all the way up to super-bantamweight beginning with that astonishing five round purge of Vic Darchinyan in 2007, arguably both the knockout and the upset of the year.

Donaire has seen ten miles of bad road since then. In 2013 while rated amongst the very best fighters in the world pound-for-pound he ran into an 11-0 contender named Guillermo Rigondeaux and was cleanly out-boxed over twelve. “Rigo” was a technical genius of the Cuban school and although he would go on to display none of the heart and soul that Donaire did in capturing the imaginations of a generation of boxing fans he was so clearly Donaire’s superior that no re-match was seriously touted. The high regard in which Donaire was held also meant that the Filipino was far from finished at the highest level, however; but this could no longer be held as the truth after he was out-pointed and out-fought even more completely by Nicholas Walters, a fine fighter but one that impressed far less than Rigondeaux. Donaire was cast down from the mountain.

Name recognition, the maddening intangible so sought after by marketing professionals, intercedes with boxing in a strange way. Fighters who otherwise might not be thought of are thrown opportunities that would otherwise be beyond their sporting abilities. Donaire never really went away and when he charmed the Irish and British in his gut-fueled 2018 stab at former pound-for-pounder Carl Frampton, Donaire found himself inside a new market, hailed for the first time by the Europeans. It seemed almost reasonable that Donaire, behind this brave and characterful loss, found himself recruited to the World Boxing Super Series bantamweight tournament, though in truth little was expected of him.

When he drew number one seed Ryan Burnett, less still was expected of him but Donaire was firmly in the fight when Burnett slipped a disc and retired from the fight at the end of the fourth. The sentimental regard in which Donaire was held was made clear when what was essentially a bye was met with few complaints. Even when the true second favorite for tournament victory, Zolani Tete withdrew with his own injury troubles and Donaire was matched with substitute Stephon Young in the semi-final, little criticism was heard. The overwhelming attitude was one of curiosity and the former champion did not disappoint.

To be clear, Donaire did not “turn back the clock” against Young. That is possible, perhaps, as demonstrated by the likes of Bernard Hopkins, Joe Brown and Archie Moore, but that is not what happened here. Rather, Donaire showed glimmers of the fighter he once was in dispatching a limited opponent, as was expected of a seasoned veteran of no small matter. But the slashing left-hook that delivered victory and deposited Young in the strange netherworld known only by combat sportspeople and victims of automobile accidents reminded one of the fighter he used to be; for a thrilling moment it was 2009 again. As Donaire knelt beside his stricken opponent in apparent prayer, gently nudging his thigh with one gloved hand, the realization sunk in that Donaire was set to contest the final with the deadly Naoya Inoue.

It would be nice here to offer a detailed breakdown of Inoue’s wonderful skillset and to trace its evolution over recent years but sadly that isn’t possible; no opponent has extended the Japanese past the second round since 2017. He is a wrecking ball of a bantamweight and a fighter who will be keen to remind boxing fans that he, like Canelo Alvarez, has taken straps and scalps in three different weight divisions but that, unlike Alvarez, he has reigned as the best fighter in each of the divisions he has graced.

Inoue has had none of the luck that Donaire has enjoyed in the course of this tournament, but he has gone un-extended regardless. After obliterating Jamie McDonnell in a single round to grab a strap in his bantamweight debut, Inoue drew top bantamweight Juan Payano in the quarter final. Once more a first-round knockout was the result. Against McDonnell he had ended matters with an old-fashioned fuselage of shots forcing the referee’s intervention, but against Payano Inoue favored accuracy and economy, landing a laser-guided one-two straight out of the Tommy Hearns manual on how to destroy ranked opposition. It was a perfect combination thrown at a moving target who had, up until then, never been stopped.

The semi-final against Emmanuel Rodriguez was almost as perfunctory. The right-hand to the body/left-hook to the head for the first knockdown was Tysonesque and as beautiful as any two-piece I’ve seen delivered in a boxing ring; the wide left-right to the body to end matters landed within seconds of the restart, runs it close though.

Inoue does not have a style but a skillset. He does what he likes. Perhaps the ultimate realization of the marriage of boxing technique and modern sports science, he is a machine capable of rendering destruction to a degree unseen anywhere in boxing currently. Perhaps not the artist that Vasily Lomachenko is, perhaps not the one-shot brawler that Deontay Wilder is, he combines much of what is good about both and lets it roll. He will take some beating. It may be that only an opponent of excess poundage or the admirable Japanese propensity for early retirement will get it done.

This, then, is the reward Donaire receives at the end – for it will be the end win or lose – of eighteen years at the sharp end of the toughest of sports. Twelve years after he vanquished Darchinyan, nine after his destruction of Hernan Marquez, seven after he gunned down Fernando Montiel, Donaire steps into the ring with the best fighter he has ever faced.

It is the kind of opportunity faded pugilists lie in bed at night and dream of. Since the fight was made, it is possible that those dreams have taken on a darker tinge. It’s not that Donaire can’t win; anyone who has followed boxing long enough knows those are foolish words. Rather it is that if he did win it would be the biggest shock of this decade and would rank among the most impressive comebacks in ring history.

Watching one of your old favorites put himself in legitimate peril for one more shot at glory is an uncomfortable trope for the boxing fan. Once upon a time he was the danger himself, but no longer is he “the man who knocks.” Rather, he is a fragile version of a fighter who likely even in his prime would have been an underdog against a boxer as special as Inoue. Whether or not you consider this unmissable may depend upon your age and your outlook. If you’re young enough not to remember Donaire’s scintillating prime, you probably feel compelled to track down and watch Inoue, a fighter already anointed great and in the prime of his career. If you are an optimist you may expect to see the old man trouble the relatively inexperienced Japanese, perhaps even witness what seems the impossible.

Or maybe, like me, you’ll be watching between your fingers as eras collide and fighting machines from different generations swing past one-another in a dance as old as the sport itself: the former master facing off against the current embodiment of his own self.

To catch it you’ll have to be up early if you’re reading this in North America or enjoy some glorious mid-morning championship action if you’re reading in Europe.

Inoue will win; I hope Donaire steps off the canvas for what should be the final time with his dignity and health intact.

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Skylar Lacy Blocked for Lamar Jackson before Making his Mark in Boxing

Published

3 days ago

January 19, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Skylar-Lacy-Blocked-for-Lamar-Jackson-Before-Making-his-Mark-in-Boxing

Skylar Lacy, a six-foot-seven heavyweight, returns to the ring on Sunday, Feb. 2, opposing Brandon Moore on a card in Flint, Michigan, airing worldwide on DAZN.

As this is being written, the bookmakers hadn’t yet posted a line on the bout, but one couldn’t be accused of false coloring by calling the 10-round contest a 50/50 fight. And if his frustrating history is any guide, Lacy will have another draw appended to his record or come out on the wrong side of a split decision.

This should not be construed as a tip to wager on Moore. “Close fights just don’t seem to go my way,” says the boxer who played alongside future multi-year NFL MVP Lamar Jackson at the University of Louisville.

A 2021 National Golden Gloves champion, Skylar Lacy came up short in his final amateur bout, losing a split decision to future U.S. Olympian Joshua Edwards. His last Team Combat League assignment resulted in another loss by split decision and he was held to a draw in both instances when stepping up in class as a pro. “In my mind, I’m still undefeated,” says Lacy (8-0-2, 6 KOs). “No one has ever kicked my ass.”

Lacy was the B-side in both of those draws, the first coming in a 6-rounder against Top Rank fighter Antonio Mireles on a Top Rank show in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and the second in an 8-rounder against George Arias, a Lou DiBella fighter on a DiBella-promoted card in Philadelphia.

Lacy had the Mireles fight in hand when he faded in the homestretch. The altitude was a factor. Lake Tahoe, Nevada (officially Stateline) sits 6,225 feet above sea level. The fight with Arias took an opposite tack. Lacy came on strong after a slow start to stave off defeat.

Skylar will be the B-side once again in Michigan. The card’s promoter, former world title challenger Dmitriy Salita, inked Brandon Moore (16-1, 10 KOs) in January. “A capable American heavyweight with charisma, athleticism and skills is rare in today’s day and age. Brandon has got all these ingredients…”, said Salita in the press release announcing the signing. (Salita has an option on Skylar Lacy’s next pro fight in the event that Skylar should win, but the promoter has a larger investment in Moore who was previously signed to Top Rank, a multi-fight deal that evaporated after only one fight.)

Both Lacy and Moore excelled in other sports. The six-foot-six Moore was an outstanding basketball player in high school in Fort Lauderdale and at the NAIA level in college. Lacy was an all-state football lineman in Indiana before going on to the University of Louisville where he started as an offensive guard as a redshirt sophomore, blocking for freshman phenom Lamar Jackson. “Lamar was hard-working and humble,” says Lacy about the player who is now one of the world’s highest-paid professional athletes.

When Lacy committed to Louisville, the head coach was Charlie Strong who went on to become the head coach at the University of Texas. Lacy was never comfortable with Strong’s successor Bobby Petrino and transferred to San Jose State. Having earned his degree in only three years (a BA in communications) he was eligible immediately but never played a down because of injuries.

Returning to Indianapolis where he was raised by his truck dispatcher father, a single parent, Lacy gravitated to Pat McPherson’s IBG (Indy Boxing and Grappling) Gym on the city’s east side where he was the rare college graduate pounding the bags alongside at-risk kids from the city’s poorer neighborhoods.

Lacy built a 12-6 record across his two seasons in Team Combat League while representing the Las Vegas Hustle (2023) and the Boston Butchers (2024).

For the uninitiated, a Team Combat League (TCL) event typically consists of 24 fights, each consisting of one three-minute round. The concept finds no favor with traditionalists, but Lacy is a fan. It’s an incentive for professional boxers to keep in shape between bouts without disturbing their professional record and, notes Lacy, it’s useful in exposing a competitor to different styles.

“It paid the bills and kept me from just sitting around the house,” says Lacy whose 12-6 record was forged against 13 different opponents.

As a sparring partner, Lacy has shared the ring with some of the top heavyweights of his generation, e.g., Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte. He was one of Fury’s regular sparring partners during the Gypsy King’s trilogy with Deontay Wilder. He worked with Joshua at Derrick James’ gym in Dallas and at Ben Davison’s gym in England, helping Joshua prepare for his date in Saudi Arabia with Francis Ngannou and had previously sparred with Ngannou at the UFC Performance Center in Las Vegas. Skylar names traveling to new places as one of his hobbies and he got to scratch that itch when he joined Whyte’s camp in Portugal.

As to the hardest puncher he ever faced, he has no hesitation: “Ngannou,” he says. “I negotiated a nice price to spend a week in his camp and the first time he hit me I knew I should have asked for more.”

Lacy is confident that having shared the ring with some of the sport’s elite heavyweights will get him over the hump in what will be his first 10-rounder (Brandon Moore has never had to fight beyond eight rounds, having won his three 10-rounders inside the distance). Lacy vs. Moore is the co-feature to Claressa Shields’ homecoming fight with Danielle Perkins. Shields, basking in the favorable reviews accorded the big-screen biopic based on her first Olympic journey (“The Fire Inside”) will attempt to capture a title in yet another weight class at the expense of the 42-year-old Perkins, a former professional basketball player.

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Mizuki Hiruta Dominates in her U.S. Debut and Omar Trinidad Wins Too at Commerce

Published

4 days ago

January 18, 2025

David A. Avila

Mizuki-Hiruta-Dominates-in-her-U.S.-Debut-and-Trinidad-Wins-Too-at-Commerce

Japan’s Mizuki Hiruta smashed through Mexico’s Maribel Ramirez with ease in winning by technical decision and local hero Omar Trinidad continued his assault on the featherweight division on Friday.

Hiruta (7-0, 2 KOs), who prefers to be called “Mimi,” made her American debut with an impressive performance against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez (15-11-4) and retained the WBO super flyweight world title by unanimous decision at Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

The pink-haired Japanese southpaw champion quickly proved to be quicker, stronger and even better than advertised. In the opening round Ramirez landed on the floor twice after throwing errant blows. On one instance, it could have been ruled a knockdown but it was not a convincing blow.

In the second round, Ramirez again attacked and again was met with a Hiruta check right hook and down went the Mexican. This time referee Ray Corona gave the eight-count and the fight resumed.

It was Hiruta’s third title defense but this time it was on American soil. She seemed nervous by the prospect of getting a favorable review from the more than 700 fans inside the casino tent.

For more than a year Hiruta has been training off and on with Manny Robles in the L.A. area. Now that she has a visa, she has spent considerable time this year learning the tricks of the trade. They proved explosively effective.

Though Mexico City’s Ramirez has considerable experience against world champions, she discovered that Hiruta was not easy to hit. Often, the Japanese champion would slip and counter with precision.

It was an impressive American debut, though the fight was stopped in the eighth round after a collision of heads. The scores were tallied and all three saw Hiruta the winner by scores of 80-71 twice and 79-72.

“I’m so happy. I could have done much more,” said Hiruta through interpreter Yuriko Miyata. “I wanted to do more things that Manny Robles taught me.”

Trinidad Wins Too

Omar Trinidad (18-0-1, 13 KOs) discovered that challenger Mike Plania (31-5, 18 KOs) has a very good chin and staying power. But over 10 rounds Trinidad proved to be too fast and too busy for the Filipino challenger.

Immediately it was evident that the East L.A. featherweight was too quick and too busy for Plania who preferred a counter-puncher attack that never worked.

“He was strong,” said Trinidad. “He took everything.”

After 10 redundant rounds all three judges scored for Trinidad 100-90 twice and 99-91. He retains the WBC Continental Americas title.

Other Bouts

Ali Akhmedov (23-1, 17 KOs) blasted out Malcolm Jones (17-5-1) in less than two rounds. A dozen punches by Akhmedov forced referee Thomas Taylor to stop the super middleweight fight.

Iyana “Roxy” Verduzco (3-0) bloodied Lindsey Ellis in the first round and continued the speedy assault in the next two rounds. Referee Ray Corona saw enough and stopped the fight in favor of Verduzco at 1:34 of the third round.

Gloria Munguilla (7-1) and Brook Sibrian (5-2) lit up the boxing ring with a nonstop clash for eight rounds in their light flyweight fight. Munguilla proved effective with a slip-and-counter attack. Sibrian adjusted and made the fight closer in the last four rounds but all three judges favored Munguilla.

More Winners

Joshua Anton, Tayden Beltran, Adan Palma, and Alexander Gueche all won their bouts.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Published

6 days ago

January 16, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Best wishes to the survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires that took place last week and are still ongoing in small locales.

Most of the heavy damage took place in the western part of L.A. near the ocean due to Santa Ana winds. Another very hot spot was in Altadena just north of the Rose Bowl. It was a horrific tragedy.

Hopefully the worst is over.

Pro boxing returns with 360 Boxing Promotions spotlighting East L.A.’s Omar Trinidad (17-0-1, 13 KOs) defending a regional featherweight title against Mike Plania (31-4, 18 KOs) on Friday, Jan. 17, at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

“I’m the king of L.A. boxing and I’ll be ready to put on a show headlining again in the main event. This is my year, I’m ready to challenge and defeat any of the featherweight world champions,” said Trinidad.

UFC Fight Pass will stream the Hollywood Night fight card that includes a female world championship fight and other intriguing match-ups.

Tom Loeffler heads 360 Promotions and once again comes full force with a hot prospect in Trinidad. If you’re not familiar with Loeffler’s history of success, he introduced America to Oleksandr Usyk, Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and the brothers Wladimir and Vitaly Kltischko.

“We’ve got a wealth of international talent and local favorites to kick off our 2025 in grand style,” said Loeffler.

He knows talent.

Trinidad hails from the Boyle Heights area of East L.A. near the Los Angeles riverbed. Several fighters from the past came from that exact area including the first Golden Boy, Art Aragon.

Aragon was a huge gate attraction during the late 1940s until 1960. He was known as a lady’s man and dated several Hollywood starlets in his time. Though he never won a world title he did fight world champions Carmen Basilio, Jimmy Carter and Lauro Salas. He was more or less the king of the Olympic Auditorium and Los Angeles boxing during his career.

Other famous boxers from the Boyle Heights area were notorious gangster Mickey Cohen and former world champion Joey Olivo.

Can Trinidad reach world title status?

Facing Trinidad will be Filipino fighter Plania who’s knocked off a couple of prospects during his career including Joshua “Don’t Blink” Greer and Giovanni Gutierrez. The fighter from General Santos in the Philippines can crack and hold his own in the boxing ring.

It’s a very strong fight card and includes WBO world titlist Mizuki Hiruta of Japan who defends the super flyweight title against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez. It’s a tough matchup for Hiruta who makes her American debut. You can’t miss her with that pink hair and she has all the physical tools to make a splash in this country.

Mizukii Hiruta

Two other female bouts are also planned, including light flyweight banger L.A.’s Gloria Munguilla (6-1) against Coachella’s Brook Sibrian (5-1) in a match set for six rounds. Both are talented fighters. Another female fight includes super featherweights Iyana “Right Hook Roxy” Verduzco (2-0) versus Lindsey Ellis (2-1) in another six-rounder. Ellis can crack with all her wins coming via knockout. Verduzco is a multi-national titlist as an amateur.

Others scheduled to perform are Ali Akhmedov, Joshua Anton, Adan Palma and more.

Doors open at 4:30 p.m.

Boxing and the Media

The sport of professional boxing is currently in flux. It’s always in flux but no matter what people may say or write, boxing will survive.

Whether you like Jake Paul or not, he proved boxing has worldwide appeal with monstrous success in his last show. He has media companies looking at the numbers and imagining what they can do with the sport.

Sure, UFC is negotiating a massive billion dollar deal with media companies, as is WWE, both are very similar in that they provide combat entertainment. You don’t need to know the champions because they really don’t matter. Its about the attractions.

Boxing is different. The good champions last and build a following that endures even beyond their careers a la Mike Tyson.

MMA can’t provide that longevity, but it does provide entertainment.

Currently, there is talk of establishing a boxing league again. It’s been done over and over but we shall see if it sticks this time.

Pro boxing is the true warrior’s path and that means a solo adventure. It’s a one-on-one sport and that appeals to people everywhere. It’s the oldest sport that can be traced to prehistoric times. You don’t need classes in Brazilian Jiujitsu, judo, kick boxing or wrestling. Just show up in a boxing gym and they can put you to work.

It’s a poor person’s path that can lead to better things and most importantly discipline.

Photos credit: Lina Baker

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