Nonito Donaire vs. Toshiaki Nishioka
After a week off boxing returns to HBO's Boxing After Dark with two very tantalizing matchups. The main event will be a bout between the top two junior featherweight boxers in the world; Nonito Donaire and Toshiaki Nishioka. This matchup will have big time boxing fans glued to their couches, because they know the stakes will be high. It will be a 12 round bout for Donaire's WBO/IBF junior featherweight titles. While boxing fans are more aware of Donaire who is ranked #9 in the top 10 p4p rankings, Toshiaki has been a champion in the past and will definatley come to fight.
The fighter with more to lose would be Donaire, his only career loss came against Rosendo Sanchez in what was the second fight of his professional career. Since then he has been utterly unbeatable comprising a record of 29-1 with 18 of those wins coming the way of knockout. Donaire is known as a very exciting and hard hitting fighter earning him the nickname of "The Filipino Flash," one of the best in boxing. However in his last three bouts he has failed to knock his opponent out, causing many fans to question his status as an elite top 10 p4p fighter. In those three fights Donaire has won two unanimous decisions and one split decision, and although he didn't look bad he also wasn't overly impressive. If Donaire once again fails to impress or even loses then his status as a top 10 p4p fighter would certainly be in question, and he would most likely be dropped from the rankings. That being said, Donaire is a fighter with one of the highest skill levels in the sport and is always a joy to watch in the ring. His foe Nishioka will enter the ring saturday night at the age of 36, which will be seven years the senior of Donaire who comes in at 29. Fans will see if the advantage goes to the younger fighter or the more experienced vet.
Toshiaki Nishioka will enter the ring saturday night in Carson, California with a far less impressive record than Donaire. As of today his record stands at 39-4-3 with 24 knockouts. Although he does have 4 losses and 3 draws on his record he has not lost a fight since 2004 against Veeraphol Nakonluang-Promotion, a fighter with whom Nishioka has squared off against four times and never won a fight. In fact against Nakonluang-Promotion he has a record of 0-2-2. Despite that Nishioka is still an always entertaining boxer. With nicknames like "The Speed King" and "Monster Left" you know he is a fighter who always brings it. He fights in a southpaw stance and even though he employs good footwork he rarely moves his head which makes for exciting brawls in the ring. And saturday should be no different. Nishioka will be hungry to reclaim the belt he held before being sidelined due to an undisclosed personal problem, causing him to be stripped of his long owned title.
Come this saturday big time boxing fans will find out just who wants that title more. The fast rising Donaire or the ageing warrior Nishioka. It comes down to the age old question in sports: youth or experience? Nishioka doesn't often fight on televised tv in the United States but a win over popular Donaire could catapult him to more big time fights on HBO. On the other hand if Donaire were to lose, his reputation would take a big hit and he would have to do some serious work to recapture the attention of fans. Especially after some recent lackluster performances. What fans can expect is a hard fought bout with both men pushing the action. This should be a great one.
PREDICTION: Nonito Donaire wins by split decision.
Brandon Rios vs. Mike Alvarado
The first fight on HBO's telecast saturday night could prove to be the best. It is a matchup between sluggers Brandon Rios and Mike Alvarado. It is a scheduled 10 round fight at junior welterweight. If you have plans that night cancel them, even if it's your own wedding. This is a fight that cannot be missed, I repeat CANNOT BE MISSED! As soon as it was announced boxing fans began salivating at the prospect of a blood and guts brawl and possible fight of the year candidate. If ever there was going to be a fight similar to Gatti vs. Ward 1, which also took place at junior welterweight, this would be it. In fact Micky Ward even said in a recent interview that this fight should be very reminiscant of his fight with the late great Arturo Gatti. Those would be some massive shoes to fill as that fight won fight of the year and round 9 is often referred to as the "round of the century." But anyone who has watched Rios or Alvarado knows that is precisely what you can expect.
The better known of the two boxers is Brandon Rios who already has many HBO fights under his belt. His record is a stellar one at 30-0-1 with a very impressive 22 knockouts. That high knockout percentage has earned Rios the nickname of "Bam Bam," and it suits him perfectly. He doesn't do much dancing in the ring, instead opting to come straight forward and constantly attack his opponent. Anytime Rios fights big time boxing fans are glued to their television sets. As exciting as Rios has been inside the ring he has been just as frustrating outside of it. A former lightweight titlest Rios was stripped of his belt against John Murray for failing to make weight. Then in his next fight against Richard Abril for a vacant lightweight title, Rios was ruled uneligible for the belt for once again failing to make weight. After talking it over with trainer Robert Garcia they decided that Rios would move up to fight at junior welterweight. The fight against Alvarado will be his first in this weight class. Rios fights in an orthodox stance, has a rock solid chin, and hands that seem to be made out of bricks. The scarey thought is that at a higher weight class Rios should provide even more power than fans are used to. As powerful as Rios is however, Alvarado is just as strong.
Mike Alvarado is also a very exciting fighter who hasn't yet gained the large fan base of counterpart Rios. This might be due to the fact that his career has been interrupted multiple times because of short stints in prison, which is why at 33 years old and undefeated he still hasn't garnered big time attenion, or a big name fight. That is until saturday night. He comes into the ring with a record of 33-0 with 23 knockouts. He fights out of Denver, Colorado and is known by most as "Mile High" Mike Alvarado, a fantastic nickname. Alvarado is on of those guys who will walk through five punches just to land one of his amazing uppercuts. He lacks a high skill level in the ring but has a strong chin and a ton of heart. Alvarado also has hands that seem to be made out of bricks instead of flesh and bone, much like Rios, and also has what might be the best uppercut in boxing. That was painfully evident in his fight against Breidis Prescott. Alvarado was down and the cards and seemingly needed a knockout for the victory, and he got just that. Early in the round he dropped Prescott after a few powerful right hands, then teed off with uppercut after uppercut forcing the ref to stop the fight. As tough of a fight it was against Prescott, Brandon Rios should be his toughest test to date.
This fight has all the hype in the world and fight fans hope that it lives up to expectations. Don't expect to see any fancy footwork, head movement, or any good defensive strategy at all. This fight will be like watching two Mack trucks slamming into each other at full speed, with both drivers refusing to hit the breaks or turn the wheel. This is the type of fight that could turn casual boxing fans into full fledged fight fanatics. Whoever wins this fight would be set up for a tremendous matchup against anyone in the 140 pound weight class that is loaded with hard throwing offensive fighters. Whatever you do this saturday, DO NOT MISS THIS FIGHT!
PREDICTION: Brandon Rios wins by majority decision. Expect both fighters to be badly hurt at some point.
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