LAS VEGAS—IBF flyweight king Nonito Donaire Jr retained his title with a TKO win in the sixth round over Moruti Mthalane at the Mandalay Bay in the undercard of the Jesus Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. Matt Vanda rematch.
Donaire, breathing heavily but constantly piling up the points, cut Mthalane over the left eye, and referee Joe Cortez signaled the ringside physician to check on the challenger.
The fight was stopped at the 1:31 mark of the sixth.
“I hit him with a right straight, and I saw he got cut big,” said Donaire in an interview.
Donaire was leading in all three judges’ scorecards before the stoppage of the fight, with the Filipino Flash throwing more punches and throwing more power punches than the game challenger.
“I needed to switch to southpaw, as I injured a finger in the second round. The switch was very useful,” Donaire said after the fight.
With the win, a possible Donaire vs. Darchinyan rematch now looms after the latter stopped Cristian Mijares in the ninth round in California.
Promoter Bob Arum, however, announced that Donaire’s next fight would take place in March next year either in Macau or Manila, definitely against a Mexican.
He floated the names of WBO superfly champ Fernando Montiel or Jorge Arce as possible opponents.
Arce (51-4-1) also won in the undercard with a fouth-round TKO of Tony Garcia.
“This victory is a strong statement that Nonito is the next Filipino boxing star to Manny Pacquiao. He is an assurance that the glory of Philippine boxing is here to stay,” said sportsman-businessman Jonathan Guardo, who hired Donaire to endorse one of his company’s products.
“He’s an exciting boxer and will be a tremendous draw in his future fights.Bob Arum has found another gem from the Philippines,” said Guardo.
Unanimous
Meanwhile, in the main event, Cesar Chavez Jr. left no doubt with his performance Saturday night.
Chavez dominated his 10-round super welterweight fight against Matt Vanda from start to finish for the unanimous decision victory at Mandalay Bay.
It was a rematch of their July bout in Hermosillo, Mexico, where Chavez took a controversial split decision, a victory some felt was the result of favorable hometown scoring for the son of Mexican fighting legend Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.
This time, Chavez Jr. was victorious by convincing scores of 99-91, 97-93 and 98-92.
Chavez was the aggressor in the first fight to control the early and middle rounds. But he struggled with stamina and faded late—he said because of flu-like symptoms—as Vanda nearly recorded the knockout. Several thought the St. Paul, Minn., native did enough to win on points. (PR with a report from AP)
