MANILA, Philippines – Filipino bantamweight boxer Nonito "The Filipino Flash" Donaire dethroned Mexican opponent Fernando Montiel in their headliner fight at the Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, Saturday night (Sunday morning in Manila).
In a quick match, Donaire stopped Montiel via a technical knockout (KO) in the second round.
In the first round, Montiel consistently evaded Donaire’s attacks.
Donaire was aggressive, but his punches failed to land on Montiel.
In the second round, Donaire then changed tactics by accepting Montiel’s attacks. He played with his improved defense and evaded the countering Montiel.
A minute before the round concluded, Donaire powered a left hook to Montiel’s face knocking him down.
Montiel got up and Donaire went for the kill, but the referee quickly stopped the fight.
With the win, the 28-year-old bagged the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization bantamweight crowns.
Donaire upped his record to 26-1 with 18 KOs.
Montiel, on the other hand, fell to 44-3-2.
Montiel could not make the post-fight press conference as he was sent to the hospital.
According to a tweet by Top Rank promotions, Montiel "was sent to the hospital to be checked due to the way he was knocked out."
Expected triumph?
After the match, Donaire said he aimed to finish the fight early.
"When I found out I would fight Montiel, I said ‘2nd Round’ and I used that to motivate me not to be afraid," he said in a Top Rank interview.
The "Filipino Flash" said he gave his all in the match. "I put everything in that punch... [I was] surprised he got up. That was my hardest punch. My best punch in my career," he said of Montiel, his "most complete" foe to date.
Donaire also stunned the boxing world with a quick match against Wladimir Sidorenko last December. The Filipino stopped the Ukranian via a 4th round knockout.
On the other hand, Montiel said he thought he could match Donaire.
"I knew that we both had the power to knock each other out... But I made the first mistake and I paid for it," he said in FanHouse.com.
‘Stunning’
According to ABS-CBN News North America correspondent Bev Llorente, boxing experts and fans at the Mandalay arena were surprised at how the fight ended.
"They were expecting (the fight will reach until) 6 or 10 rounds. But it seems that Montiel (did not match the strength of) Nonito," she added.
Boxing analyst Dennis Principe admitted he himself was shocked with how quick the fight was.
"Actually, I was expecting Nonito to knock (Montiel) out, but I was expecting a tough fight," he said in an interview on Dateline Philippines.
Principe said that with the victory, Donaire has levelled up in the sport.
"Donaire just proved that he’s the next best thing to come out of the Philippines after Manny Pacquiao, and a star is born," he said.
Donaire kept the Philippine flag waving along with compatriot "Mighty" Mark Jason Melligen, who defeated Mexican Gabriel Martinez.
Melligen won over Martinez by a unanimous decision in their welter weight bout in an undercard match. (by Barry Viloria, abs-cbnNEWS.com, and Bev Llorente, ABS-CBN News North America correspondent.) /MP
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