Tuesday, November 04, 2008 Quijano: Power is not everything By Jingo Quijano Last Round
IF NONITO Donaire is to step into the big shoes that Manny Pacquiao is sure to leave behind when he retires, this talented young man should get past the Darchinyan knockout and move on.
With the manner he pot-shotted his way to a TKO6 win over game South African challenger Moruti Mthalane I’m beginning to suspect that the “Filipino Flash” might be suffering from a nasty hangover.
KNOCKOUT CONSCIOUS. Nonito has every right to invoke that scintillating knockout victory over Darchinyan as damning evidence of the numbing power in his fists.
After all, with the way the “Raging Bull” handled Christian Mijares last Sunday, no one else can lay claim to having beaten the awkward Armenian.
Hell, nobody else even came close. But not Nonito. He disposed the cocky southpaw off like a bad habit.
But herein lies my concern. Nonito has become knockout-conscious and is relying too much on his power. In doing so, he may be neglecting the many other facets of his game.
Allow me illustrate.
In his first post-Darchinyan bout, he won over Luis Maldonado in eight rounds. Almost immediately after he was declared the winner, Nonito was seen inquiring about what round the fight ended.
When informed that it was the same round that Darchinyan defeated Maldonado, Nonito made a show of disappointment that he failed to stop his opponent sooner than Darchinyan did.
Here’s more.
In Quinito Henson’s piece on The Philippine Star yesterday, Nonito reportedly bewailed the lack of sparring partners during his training due to his “reputation of knocking guys out in the gym.”
POT SHOTS. Nonito repeatedly scored with powershots during the first two rounds. Sometimes, he didn’t even bother to set them up properly. Which was alright when you have an advancing target like Mthalane.
But the problem was that the South African was one tough customer and just would not come quietly. It didn’t help matters when he injured his left hand and had to fight southpaw at times.
If you ask me, Nito certainly could have made things easier for himself if he had opted to box and throw combinations.
Mthalane was the perfect target to demonstrate a much varied arsenal that I know he possesses.
He’s such a gifted athlete. Fast, strong and tall for his weight class. He’s also a very intelligent fighter. His power will always be there. But Nonito tends to forget, it’s not all that’s there for him.
SWITCHING. Some people were reportedly turned off with his constant switching from orthodox to southpaw. Nonito later explained that he had to do it on order to protect the injured hand.
But not me. I’m okay with switch-hitting, as long as you have the talent to pull it off. Not many fighters can do it, but those who can, enjoy the advantage of utilizing a strong hand as a lead punch. Of course, there’s the inherent confusion it can cause to an opponent not capable of making adjustments mid-fight.
Roy Jones was great at it. Ditto with Miguel Cotto. The same might hold true for Nonito.
JAB OF THE DAY. “I am 39 and Calzaghe is 36. He is not that much younger than me, but at 39 I have to be careful because I have to keep this face looking cute.”—Roy Jones Jr. on his showdown with Joe Calzaghe this coming weekend (The Sun, 11/3/08).
THE LAST ROUND. It’s on Ombudsman Visayas Acting Director Carla Narvios-Tanco who celebrates her birthday today. Cheers!
