Donaire ends 2011 with Big Apple dominance

Nonito Donaire Jr. soaked in the Big Apple atmosphere; the unparalleled media attention, the Empire State Building; and the opportunity to fight in New York City's Madison Square Garden. Donaire, who is ranked in the top five by most pound for pound lists, had finally reached new heights as he prepared to defend the bantamweight titles he had ripped from Fernando Montiel in two rounds earlier in the year against undefeated former two division world champ Omar Narvaez on October 22. Virtually all of the promotion for the bout was left to the heavily favored Donaire as Narvaez remained confined to his hotel room for a week, only emerging from isolation for the final press conference and weighin. Narvaez's lack of pre-fight visibility served as a telling omen as he essentially didn't show up to fight. For 12 rounds, Narvaez fought in survival mode, hiding behind a peek-a-boo defense while averaging 24 thrown punches per round. Donaire (27-1, 18 knockouts) of San Leandro, California, dominated the match, hurting Narvaez several times throughout the bout, even mocking the now 35-1-2 (19 KOs) Narvaez's timidness by dropping his hands and weaving into range in the twelfth round. All three judges awarded Donaire every single round, each scoring the bout 120-108. "The fight was stolen from the crowd," said Donaire afterwards, frustrated by what he felt was a disappointing night for the 4,250 fans in attendance. "The Argentinian guy should reimburse all the people." Donaire opened 2011 with so much promise. But after destroying Montiel in Las Vegas, Donaire didn't fight for eight more months. The expectations of a Donaire blowout of Narvaez stemmed largely from the considerable size and age advantage enjoyed by "The Filipino Flash," yet it was Donaire who found out the hard way that it still takes two to tango in the sport of boxing. Michael Bazzell, Donaire's strength and conditioning coach, found a silver lining to the whole affair, drawing a brief smile from a disappointed Donaire. "He's leaving the 112-118 divisions beating one of the longest reigning champions there. Donaire will begin the year by moving up to the 122-lb division to meet former titlist Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., on February 4 in San Antonio, Texas. When he enters the ring that night, he will be carrying much of the fire that he left the ring with last time he had fought in front of a crowd. "I'm gonna feel sorry for the next guy," Donaire said. — JVP, GMA News Ryan Songalia is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and contributes to GMA News and the Filipino Reporter newspaper in New York City. He can be reached at ryan@ryansongalia.com. An archive of his work can be found at www.ryansongalia.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ryansongalia.