BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- On April 21 Carl Frampton (24-1, 14 KOs) and Nonito Donaire (38-4, 24 KOs) will fight for a vacant WBO interim featherweight title. Both Frampton and Donaire have won world titles in multiple divisions and both have been named Big Time Boxing's Fighter of the Year, Frampton in 2016 and Donaire in 2012. This fight will be streamed on Showtime boxing's Facebook page and YouTube channel.
Frampton fights out of the orthodox stance and on Saturday he will be fighting in front of his hometown fans. He likes to work behind a busy jab and will often bring a solid right hand behind it. Along with that right hand Frampton also has a nice left hook that he is skilled with whether he throws it upstairs or to the body. He also has fast hands that help when he's on the attack but he can't get overly aggressive because he has been dropped before.
The best year of Frampton's career was in 2016 when he was the Fighter of the Year. That year he beat Scott Quigg and Leo Santa Cruz but lost his rematch to Santa Cruz the following year. After rebounding with a win, Frampton is looking to get back into title contention and if he beats Donaire and Santa Cruz can take care of business in his rematch with Abner Mares in June, the two could face-off in a rubber match.
At 35 years old Donaire's best years are probably behind him but he remains a dangerous opponent. Donaire has an awkward style and really relies on his athleticism and instincts. What makes him dangerous is that he has power in both hands. He jabs from awkward angles and likes to follow those up with hard straight right hands and powerful left hooks. Donaire has dropped and finished many opponents with both hands and Frampton will need to avoid the power early, especially since he's typically a cold starter.
In his best performances Donaire has been the aggressor and was extremely confident in his power. He's beaten plenty of talented opponents, including Omar Narvaez, Jorge Arce, and Vic Darchinyan. However, in his fight with Nicholas Walters he was stopped and beaten badly and hasn't beat a top opponent since, even having some trouble with journeymen opponents.
Donaire still has enough power to make this an interesting fight and his 6-inch could give Frampton problems much like Santa Cruz was able to do in their second fight. Frampton has been known to start cold and he's been dropped early in fights before so look for Donaire to pounce early and try to end things in the first few rounds. If Donaire can't get Frampton out early then Frampton should start to take control as the fight goes on. Frampton's jab is a great weapon but in this fight he might be better suited on the inside where he can attack the older fighter's body.
PREDICTION: This fight could come down to who has more left in the tank. Nonito Donaire has the power advantage but Carl Frampton is younger and has been more active so this should be a close fight. After a few early troublesome rounds Frampton will get on track and win a close fight by the way of majority decision.
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| Frampton attacking the body of Leo Santa Cruz |
The best year of Frampton's career was in 2016 when he was the Fighter of the Year. That year he beat Scott Quigg and Leo Santa Cruz but lost his rematch to Santa Cruz the following year. After rebounding with a win, Frampton is looking to get back into title contention and if he beats Donaire and Santa Cruz can take care of business in his rematch with Abner Mares in June, the two could face-off in a rubber match.
At 35 years old Donaire's best years are probably behind him but he remains a dangerous opponent. Donaire has an awkward style and really relies on his athleticism and instincts. What makes him dangerous is that he has power in both hands. He jabs from awkward angles and likes to follow those up with hard straight right hands and powerful left hooks. Donaire has dropped and finished many opponents with both hands and Frampton will need to avoid the power early, especially since he's typically a cold starter.
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| Donaire splitting the guard to land a jab |
Donaire still has enough power to make this an interesting fight and his 6-inch could give Frampton problems much like Santa Cruz was able to do in their second fight. Frampton has been known to start cold and he's been dropped early in fights before so look for Donaire to pounce early and try to end things in the first few rounds. If Donaire can't get Frampton out early then Frampton should start to take control as the fight goes on. Frampton's jab is a great weapon but in this fight he might be better suited on the inside where he can attack the older fighter's body.
PREDICTION: This fight could come down to who has more left in the tank. Nonito Donaire has the power advantage but Carl Frampton is younger and has been more active so this should be a close fight. After a few early troublesome rounds Frampton will get on track and win a close fight by the way of majority decision.
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