Quijano: Quarantine Series 9: Donaire vs. Montiel

THE date was Feb. 19, 2011. The venue: The Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. At stake were the WBO and WBC bantamweight titles. This would be Donaire’s second fight at his new division while Montiel would be making his fourth title defense.

Donaire was younger by three years and stood taller by two inches but both men weighed in at 118 pounds.

BACKGROUND. At that time, Fernando Montiel (44-2, 34 KOs) was one of the overlords of the lighter weight divisions. He belonged to that rarefied air of Mexican champions who have won three world titles in as many divisions. He was already being compared to the likes of Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales.

Nonito Donaire (26-1, 17 KOS) wasn’t too shabby either. His victory over the formidable Vic Darchinyan had propelled him into stardom and he had racked up seven straight victories moving up two weight divisions and collecting trinkets along the way.

He was also being touted as the heir apparent to countryman Manny Pacquiao.

In terms of common opponents, both men had fought Luis Maldondo and Luis Concepcion. Donaire defeated the latter via decision and the former via eighth round stoppage. Montiel stopped both of them in Round 3.

Donaire was installed as the pre-fight favorite with 2-1 odds.

At that time, this was a true super-fight with both protagonists occupying spots on the mythical pound-for-pound rankings.

THE FIGHT. Both men started out boxing cautiously, but Donaire was able to establish his advantage in hand speed, connecting with several jabs and a big left hook early in the round.

Montiel tried to mount an attack but seemed wary of the speed of the “Filipino Flash”.

In the second around, Donaire started to find his distance. Early in the round, he landed with a hard left jab-right straight combination.

Montiel appeared to shake it off but he would advance flat footed, while Donaire darted in and out of harm’s way.

Then with about a minute left, Donaire connected with a monster left hook just as Montiel was about to unload a right hand.

Montiel fell down viciously, writhing and twitching on the canvas like he had been tasered.

Miraculously, he managed to get up and referee Russell Mora foolishly allowed the fight to continue. Another hook and a right hand on a stunned, glass-eyed Montiel were enough for the ref to call for the denouement of the fight.

AFTERMATH. Donaire would move up to the super-bantamweight division and defend it five more times before losing to Guillermo Rigondeaux. He would become a world champion again at the featherweight division. He is still an active fighter today.

Though his career would continue, Montiel was never the same fighter after this stunning knockout loss. He tried but would never become a world champion again. He retired in 2016 after two successive losses to Lee Shelby and a knockout to Jorge Lara.

LAST ROUND. It’s on Reymond Tero, who recently celebrated his birthday. Cheers!

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