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NONITO DONAIRE, the Filipino who presently holds the
International Boxing Federation (IBF) flyweight title, has been
touted by The Ring magazine as among the nine upcoming boxers who
could score it big in 2009 and onwards.
In article posted in the boxing
section of Yahoo Sports, The Ring writer Doug Fisher said Donaire is
“the total package.”
“His extensive amateur
background contributes to a solid foundation that includes good
balance and footwork, which compliments his flashy speed and power.
Being a Central California-based Filipino, he has the ability to tap
into a rapidly growing Filipino fan base. And at 5-foot-6, he is
very tall for a flyweight and could easily compete in heavier weight
classes,” Fisher said in his article.
Donaire is presently ranked No. 1
in The Ring’s list of flyweight contenders. He stopped Vic Darchinyan
in the fifth round in a July 2007 bout to win the IBF crown. He
defended his title twice against Luis Maldonado and Moruti Mthalane,
upping his record to 20-1 with 13 knockouts.
Donaire is set to challenge
junior bantamweight titlist Fernando Montiel in the Philippines on
March 15. Montiel is The Ring’s No. 2 junior bantamweight
contender.
New batch of stars
Fisher said Donaire is among the
nine upcoming stars in boxing who would eventually take over from
the sport’s aging stars, which include champions Juan Manuel
Marquez, Joe Calzaghe and Bernard Hopkins.
“The fighters who dominated
headlines early and in the middle of this decade—Lennox Lewis,
Mike Tyson, Fernando Vargas, Marco Antonio Barrera, Naseem Hamed and
Erik Morales—are gone from the scene,” he said.
The other fighters whom Fisher
named as the next rising stars in boxing are: Light heavyweight Chad
Dawson (27-0, 17 knockouts); Super welterweight Paul Williams (36-1,
27 knockouts); Junior featherweight Juan Manuel Lopez (24-0, 22
knockouts); Lightweight Edwin Valero (24-0, 24 knockouts);
Welterweight Andre Berto (23-0, 19 knockouts); Junior welterweight
Timothy Bradley (23-0, 11 knockouts); Bantamweight Abner Mares
(17-0, 11 knockouts); and Junior lightweight Jorge Linares (26-0, 17
knockouts).
--Conrad Cariño
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