Nonito “The Filipinio Flash” Donaire had it all. He was riding high, a fan favorite, a top P4P fighter, 2012 fighter of the year and someone who seemed to have no weaknesses. His speed, power and ring savvy had been too much for anybody he faced. A few bruises here and there, an occasional hand injury to remind him of his dominant performances and a pocket full of dough to dull the pain. His face was becoming more and more recognizable to celebrity seekers.
He did and said all the right things. He pushed for VADA type testing for everyone. He often expressed a willingness to fight anyone, including Abner Mares; although, he did express a reluctance to fight Rigondeaux, but not because he feared him. No, it was for more of a practical reason. He didn’t think Guillermo Rigondeaux deserved the shot. Donaire felt Rigondeaux needed to beat a big name first.
By Marc Livitz at ringside in Corpus Christi, Texas, photo gallery by Adrian Hernandez – Juan Diaz scored a sixth round TKO victory over Hernando “Pipino” Cuevas, Jr. tonight at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. Diaz (36(18)-4) had taken a respite of sorts from the ring. The Houston, TX boxer last fought in July of 2010 in a rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez. He lost a sound unanimous decision and the result was a far cry from his initial meeting with Marquez in February of 2009.
WBA super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (12-0, 8 KO’s) proved to be too fast, too skilled and too talented for WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire (31-2, 20 KO’s) tonight in beating him by a 12 round unanimous decision at the Radio City Music Hall, in New York, New York, USA.
Photo: Wende — 45-year-old Mia St John (47-13-2, 18 KO’s) looked like a spectator from the crowd that had mistakenly walked into the ring tonight against WBA/WBO/WBC female welterweight Cecilia Braekhus (22-0, 6 KO’s) at the Arena Nord, Frederikshavn, Denmark. Braekhus nailed St. John at will in every until the fight was halted in the 3rd after St. John was staggered by the ropes from a storm of heavy shots from Braekhus.
(Tune in to “
WBC cruiserweight champion Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (47-2-1, 33 KO’s) will be defending his title for the fifth against former 2008 Olympic heavyweight gold medalist from Russia Rakhim Chakhkiev (16-0, 12 KO’s) on June 22nd in Moscow, Russia. This is going to be a tough fight for the 31-year-old Wlodarczyk because the 30-year-old Chakhkiev is a tough inside fighter with excellent power. He’s a much different type of fighter than the guys that Wlodarczyk has been fighting recently.
#8 WBC heavyweight contender Manuel Charr (23-1, 13 KO’s) might be little more than just a fringe contender in the division, but he is quite good at pushing for fights against top fighters. Charr campaigned for a title shot against WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko last year and got it despite never having faced any real quality opposition. 
I have been ridiculed, unfairly so in my opinion, for expressing my wanton thought processes in the local when it comes to boxing. As any real man such as myself knows the local pub is where a lot, if not most, of the best boxing banter occurs (and indeed fights depending in which part of Stoke you live in). Being a somewhat pugilist sage, in my local and wider community, I am still happily surprised when people wish to enter into a boxing debate with me. Not least of all because it gives me a chance to hear others opinions – even though they are largely wrong and not worth hearing, unlike mine. Whilst I have spent a lot of time in America, and like to call it a second home, even though it is my mum who owns a second home there and lets me stay over, the knowledge in the States isn’t as widespread on important matters e.g Amir Khan. Unlike here in the greatest country on earth, Great Britain (mostly England), everyone knows who Amir Khan is. Most people will remember him for three reasons, which are i) he won an Olympic medal, ii) he got knocked out by John Prescott’s nephew and iii) he beat up some blokes trying to nick his Range Rover or is an awesome boxer. This highly informative and easy to read article aims to synthesize many parts of my knowledge to create a wider spectrum for the uninformed, and mostly yank culprits, who do not see what all us Great Britons see – Khan is King (not literal). In my opinion he is pound for pound number one above the likes of Mayweather and Timothy Bradley.
Every great fighter needs a nemesis to challenge him, and long ago Nonito Donaire’s many critics picked one for him in WBA champion Guillermo Rigondeaux. Two equal champions battling for glory? That sounds much more exciting than the sobering reality that Rigondeaux is a massive underdog.