BERNSTEIN ON BOXING
Donaire scored the 2011 Knockout of the Year against Fernando Montiel ...
took over the role of manager. And the male-dominated boxing world, not surprisingly, looked askance at Rachel’s emergence. A loss to Cuban boxing wizard Guillermo Rigondeaux inflamed the chatter. Nonito’s reaction, however, was one of unswerving support for his wife, and that has never waned throughout the fights that followed. And remarkably, Rachel, a former military taekwondo champion in her own right, even took on the role of trainer for Nonito’s final world title win against Nordine Oubaali in 2021. Their partnership is a unique and central theme to the arc of Donaire’s career. His first reinvention occurred after the Rigondeaux loss, when he moved up to featherweight and won the WBA title against Simpiwe Vetyeka. He lost the belt to Nicholas Walters, then went back to 122 pounds and outpointed Cesar Juarez to pick up the WBO title, which he lost to Jessie Magdaleno in his second defense. Donaire made what some, including me, thought was an ill-advised return to featherweight and lost to Carl Frampton, but reinvented himself yet again, at age 35, by going back down two weight divisions to participate in the World Boxing Super Series at bantamweight, where he had never lost a fight. This is where he would remain for the next eight years and counting. But if that decision was a surprise, it was what happened in the finals of the WBSS against Naoya Inoue that truly shocked the boxing world, as Donaire turned what some thought was a suicide mission into talk of his rejuvenation, even in defeat. His courageous and skillful performance against “The Monster” was the stuff of legend. Donaire lost by decision but tested Inoue as no one else had, and he did it a few days before his 37th birthday. He rode that momentum to the Oubaali title win before he astonishingly took on Inoue again in 2022 and suffered a one-sided second- round stoppage. Another title has
has continued, even in his 40s, with his two last fights coming against two of Japan’s top bantamweights many years his junior. He was courageous and skilled in two losses. • No one can claim to be above Donaire in terms of a career- long devotion to preparation, conditioning and commitment to the sport. A major part of his legacy is his popularity with boxing fans and people within the industry. Yes, he and Rachel have had a few public dustups with folks on the business side of the sport. It would be impossible for that not to happen in a decades-long boxing career. But it’s nothing compared to the dysfunctional boxing circus we see with many of the top names in boxing, both in and out of the ring. Donaire’s fan popularity stems not just from his ability in the ring and the many exciting fights he has created; it also comes from the respect he has shown opponents before, during and after they battle one another, with the equanimity and grace he’s shown in both winning and losing. Even in today’s turbulent social media-laden times, that seems to count for something with many boxing fans. At his best, during his championship runs through the flyweight and bantamweight divisions, Donaire was as dominant a champion as I have seen. That period alone made his boxing career something truly special. It helped pave his road to Canastota and the Hall of Fame where he will be rightfully enshrined.
I was ringside that night to call the match, and what happened qualifies as one of the top three moments I saw in my 21-year run on Showtime Championship Boxing . Flyweight titleholder Vic Darchinyan was on a run of terror through his division with six defenses of his crown, five by stoppage. Among those victims was Nonito’s brother, Glenn (who lost a technical decision that probably should’ve been a TKO as well). Nonito had carved out a solid 17-1 career to that point, but many thought he was ticketed as the seventh Darchinyan victim. It was apparent, however, from the opening bell that Donaire was the superior fighter with advantages in height, reach and skill. All of that helped him fashion the
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… which followed the 2007 Knockout of the year against Vic Darchinyan.
eluded him in the twilight of his career, but that is of little matter. Sticking to the particulars of Donaire’s journey has been by design in this column so far. There needs to be a real awareness of facts to fully appreciate the observations I now offer:
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A man who is all about being steady and reliable in his conditioning and approach to boxing has had the most turbulent of journeys in career fortune. Though successes far outnumber failures, the swing in fortunes has been dizzying at times. Donaire’s fearless approach to challenge-taking has been extraordinary, and you can either argue it was the biggest strength or biggest weakness of his career. Every new weight up or down seemed to bring him to a master of that division. It worked against Montiel, but not against Rigondeaux. It was a legend builder against Inoue, and it’s reflective of his persona that even a loss somehow becomes a win. Donaire’s insane acceptance of difficult challenges
FLASHES OF GREATNESS By Al Bernstein
Upset of the Year: He ended the fight with a fifth-round left hook that was felt around the boxing universe. The finality of the knockout starkly ended Darchinyan’s dominance and replaced it with Donaire’s. What followed was a magical five-year run of 13 straight wins for Donaire, which included adding a pair of bantamweight titles with a second-round stoppage of Mexican star Fernando Montiel and winning a junior featherweight Ring championship by knocking out Toshiaki Nishioka. While the journey in the ring was smooth, outside it there were uneven times. Family relations with his father and brother were strained as his wife, Rachel,
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T here are few boxers of this century who have had a more fascinating and successful journey than future Hall of Famer Nonito Donaire. The man has reinvented his career more times than Madonna. Even now, after a violent TKO loss to Riku Masuda on March 15, we are not sure if the 43-year-old is
done with his career – as if we can truly tell that with any boxers these days. What I can say is that 25 years into a pro career seems like a pretty good time to evaluate/celebrate a person’s career – with an emphasis here on the celebration part. The boxing journey for Donaire began well before July 7, 2007, but that was the date that put him on the map.
I will always be grateful that some 19 years ago, I was able to be ringside to chronicle for the ages that famous left hook that ignited the extraordinary career of the Filipino Flash.
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