Donaire vs. Nishioka
Saturday nights main event was a long awaited fight between two of the best 122 pounders on the planet, Nonito Donaire and Toshiaki Nishioka. It was supposed to be a fast paced action filled fight but unfortunatley it did not live up to expectations. Once again Donaire was left to carry the action with his opponent content to let it happen.
The first round was a complete sleeper. Donaire posed and threw some jabs while his opponent Nishioka barley threw even one punch. The fans in the arena who had just watched one of the best action fights ever grew impatient fast and the boos began flying. In fact the action was so slow that it prompted ref Raul Caiz to tell the fighters to start boxing. The boos continued for most of the early rounds as Donaire easily picked apart Nishioka.
To his credit, Donaire did not get frustrated by the crowd and never forgot his game plan which is not an easy thing to do when the man you're fighting refuses to engage. When Nishioka went to his corner his trainer gave little to no instruction which made it seem as though Nishioka was just there to collect a paycheck and not get knocked out. In the sixth round things finally began to change from a dance routine to a fight.
Donaire dropped Nishioka early in the sixth round and it seemed to wake Nishioka out of his slumber. Nishioka got up from the canvass quickly and began to throw punches and wave Donaire to bring it on. For a few rounds it seemed like maybe Nishioka was playing possum in the early rounds so that Donaire would become over confident and Nishioka could take advantage. He began to land big overhand left hands to the head of Donaire seemingly looking for a big knockout that never came.
In the ninth round Donaire connected on a massive right hand that sent Nishioka flying to the canvass. Once again the Japanese fighter got up off the canvass in a hurry and seemed ready to fight. But then right after that Donaire landed with an uppercut to the body and ref Raul Caiz jumped in to ened the fight. That stoppage was one of the worst I have ever seen. The uppercut didn't do any damage to Nishioka and he certainly wasn't hurt or in any danger. However Caiz glanced over to Nishioka's corner before the stoppage and it seemed like they were going to throw in the towel at any moment which may have caused him to react and end the fight. It was a shame that the round didn't continue because a fight was finally starting to break out. But even with Nishioka letting his hands go more so than in the early rounds it was clear he was no match for the lightning quick Donaire.
It appears that Nishioka's long and storied career has now come to an end. Before he took this fight he had considered retirement and after this knockout I wouldn't be suprised if he did. He may want one more fight in his homeland of Japan and to go out with a victory, but his days as a top flight prize fighter are done. The future is bright for Donaire, but also very up in the air. Besides Abner Mares or Guillermo Rigondeaux there doesn't seem to be anyone left for Donaire to fight in the junior featherweight division. He could move up to 126 pounds, but Bob Arum would first like to have him fight Jorge Arce who is an older fighter in the twilight of his career but is always an exciting brawler in the ring and would definatley give Donaire a real fight. Hopefully whoever Donaire fights next actually comes to win and not just survive. Donaire's place in the top 10 p4p rankings seem to be safe for a very long time.
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