Meet Nonito Donaire. He’s currently the WBO and WBC bantamweight world champion and is a rare fighter who’s won titles in three different weight classes. He may also be the greatest pound-for-pound fighter alive right now and you should root for him.
First of all, his name is fun to say (it’s pronounced doe-nye-ree). Also, he’s an American. Well, actually he was born in the Philippines but moved to the Bay Area as a kid and has lived there ever since. I suggest we can claim him as our own. After all, I can’t even remember the last great American to fight in the 118-pound weight class. (Yeah, seriously. This dude is 118 pounds and has a serious knockout punch.)
Here’s his KO of Fernando Montiel two weeks ago. I love it. Montiel looks like he’s about to wake up, Inception-style.
According to Ring Magazine, Donaire is now the third best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He’s behind only Pacquiao and Mayweather. I know, I thought Mayweather retired years ago, too. (Shrug.)
It now looks like the Filipino Flash (not the greatest nickname ever, but it’ll do) will fight Anselmo Moreno, the WBA bantweight champ sometime in May on HBO. The consensus is that this would be a very good fight.
Here’s a great video of Flash Donaire toying with former IBF Flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan.
So if you’re a casual fan, keep an eye on Flash Donaire. You can follow him on Twitter here.
