I’VE always been a believer in the law of karma, especially on the positive side. Simply put, good things do happen to good people, and the latest iteration of this wonderful symbiosis couldnt have happened to a nicer and more deserving guy, Nonito Donaire.
The Filipino Flash lucked out when his scheduled opponent for the WBSS bantamweight tournament Zolani Tete had to back out due to injury and was matched up instead with reserve fighter Stephon Young last Sunday.
I’m not saying Donaire (40-5, 26 KOs) couldn’t have beaten Tete. On the contrary, I’ve always believed that a focused, composed Donaire could knock out anybody in the division, even at 36 years of age.
But Tete was certainly a more formidable opponent than Young (18-2, 7KOs), and this was certainly a welcome break for the ever- beaming Donaire.
THE FIGHT. Young started out fast, seemingly intent on establishing his rhythm early in the fight.
He seemed to have a slight advantage in hand speed over Donaire and caught the latter with some jabs and eye-catching left straights in the first two rounds.
For his part, Donaire landed some jabs and right hands and seemed to be biding his time.
In the third, he started to walk down the smaller Young and though the latter would still occasionally land a decent punch, he really was not hurting Donaire.
In contrast, every Donaire shot would make him stumble backwards or make his knees buckle.
You got the sense it was only a matter of time.
The fourth and fifth rounds were all Donaire’s as Stephon seemed to revert to defense mode.
It didn’t matter though as Donaire continued to march forward, landing bombs, seemingly impervious to what Young had to offer in return.
The end came in the sixth when Donaire landed a short, crisp left hook during an exchange that knocked Young out while he was still on his feet.
The ref didn’t even bother to count and Donaire now advances to the tournament Finals.
LAST ROUND. It’s on Doc Tess V. Heyrosa who recently celebrated her birthday. Cheers!