Bagamat tinanggap ni WBA at WBO super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux ng Cuba ang hamon ng tinalo niyang si three-division world champion Nonito Donaire Jr., posibleng manatili na sa 126 pounds division ang Pinoy boxer at hamunin na lamang ang wala pang talong si WBA featherweight titlist Nicholas Walters ng Jamaica.
Ipinahiwatig ito ng beteranong boxing commentator ng Home Box Office (HBO) na si Larry Merchant na labis humanga sa panalo ni Donaire via 9th round TKO laban kay three-division world champion Vic Darchinyan ng Armenia noong Linggo sa American Bank Center sa Corpus Christi, Texas.
Ani Merchant, posibleng isabak si Donaire ng Top Rank Promotions laban kay Walters na nanalo rin sa undercard noong Linggo sa 4th round TKO laban kay Mexican Alberto Garza ng Mexico para maging four-dvision world titlist ang Pilipino.
Sa panayam ni Chris Robinson ng Hustle Boss, sinabi ni Merchant na napabilib ito ni Donaire na nais nang tumigil sa pagboboksing matapos talunin sa puntos ni Rigondeaux.
“I thought that he (Darchinyan) was fighting his normal boxer-puncher style against a guy who knew him. He was avoiding that left hook that ended his world as he knew it seven years ago. To Donaire’s credit, instead of submitting and saying ‘I didn’t want to be here anyway’, he unleashed the inner fighter in him,” diin ni Merchant.
“I give him (Donaire) credit,” ani Merchant. “He was losing the fight. Darchinyan had seized the drama of the fight. And he went for it. He knew he had to go for it and he did and I give him the highest marks for that.”
Ayon kay Merchant, may insider siya sa Team Donaire na nagsabing tinabangan na ang Pinoy boxer sa boksing matapos matalo kay Rigondeaux.
“He’s an unusual person in boxing. There’s a sensitivity about him, a kind of vulnerability about him. And after having those four fights and being Fighter of the Year and making a lot of money, he really had some inner fight about whether he wanted to go on,” ani Merchant.
“I’m told that he was considering retiring even before the Rigondeaux fight. Or just thinking about it. Normally, when an athlete or fighter thinks about retiring, he’s retired. Maybe he’s found that it’s not just getting to the top of the ladder. If you want to be successful at your craft, it’s staying there and being able to dedicate yourself.”
Naunang hinamon ni Donaire si WBO featherweight titlist Orlando Salido ngunit nakatakdang magdepensa ang Mexican sa Enero 25 laban kay two-time Olympics gold medalist Vasyl Lomachenko ng Ukraine.
“The way I hear, they want to put him in with the kid Walters,” dagdag ni Merchant. “There’s talk about making that fight. Then, maybe he can fight the winner of Salido vs. Lomachenko down the road.”
Posible ring magbalik si Donaire sa super bantamweight division matapos tanggapin ni Rigondeaux ang kanyang hamon na mag-rematch sila sa Marso 2014.
“I am the king at 122. If Nonito wants it, we can meet in Miami in March 2014,” sabi ni Rigondeaux na nakatakda namang magdepensa ng korona kay dating IBF bantamweight titlist Joseph Agbeko ng Ghana sa Disyembre 7 sa Atlantic City, New Jersey. (Gilbert Espena)
.. Continue: Balita.net.ph (source)
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