Donaire Ugly But Effective In Outlasting Concepcion

It was hardly a welcome return to the super flyweight division, but in the end, recently vacated flyweight titlist Nonito Donaire found a way to turn back the challenge of Panamaniam trialhorse Rafael Concepcion. Overcoming an injured hand and a considerable weight difference, Donaire emerged with a clear decision win in the main event at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Donaire came in at the super flyweight limit of 115 lb; Concepcion was considerably over at 119.5 lb, resulting in a 20% forfeiture of his $65,000 payday.

As expected, Donaire gained control very early in the fight. Precision punching is always the key to his success, though it was effective body shots that seemed to get the best of the fleshy Concepcion in the opening round.

Despite his early success, the advice from Donaire’s corner was to offer more jabs. It wasn’t immediately evident in the second, as Donaire was more comfortable fighting at a measured pace, allowing for left hooks and right hands to land upstairs.

He should’ve listened to his corner, because his night never got any easier.

Concepcion charged forward late in the round, landing two right hands along the ropes that momentarily hurt Donaire, as did a left hook a few moments later. Donaire recovered well, though to the tune of being the first round he’s lost all year.

A sense of urgency was sensed on both sides. Donaire showed visible swelling on his right cheek, while Concepcion was forced to contend with a cut over his left eye. Their accelerated willingness to make something happen in a hurry resulted in a sloppy third round, with neither fighter landing much of anything, and certainly not any punches of note.

Donaire settled down in the fourth, reverting back to old form, which hardly meant good news for his challenger. The jab finally surfaced, but his most effective punch was his right hand, which landed in succession late in the round. Donaire was a little too overzealous, though, leaving himself open for a counter left hook that made for a nice exchange down the stretch.

The fifth round proved to be a source of frustration for Donaire, including a slip to the canvas (though not ruled a knockdown), and a clash of heads late in the round. The Filipino boxer-puncher didn’t fare much better in the sixth, a round in which he tried to work the jab but found himself circling the ring as Concepcion played the role of aggressor.

Action picked up in the seventh. Concepcion continued to come forward, to the point of bullying Donaire in the early portions of the round. Things turned around midway through when Donaire stopped moving and finally planted his feet and threw back.

It was enough to create space between Donaire and his opponent, and also enough to remain in control throughout the eighth round, in which he effectively employed his jab.

Momentum threatened to shift in the ninth, with Concepcion offering his own jab for the first time in the fight. Donaire absolved any fears of an upset brewing with a straight right and left hook, but offered far too much movement to effectively follow up.

As the fight crept into double digit rounds, it became clear that “Win today, look good the next time” was now the mantra in Donaire’s corner. There existed genuine concern in the crowd, but hardly the rabid atmosphere that has become the centerpiece of Top Rank’s recent independent pay-per-view shows.

That part was due to Donaire’s turning a fight into a boxing match, a lot of it having to do with his inability to genuinely hurt his bigger foe. He tried to do something about it towards round’s end, targeting the cut above Concepcion’s left eye and also connecting with a left uppercut to end the frame.

In came the championship rounds, which saw both fighters trading right hands at center ring but with Donaire getting the much better of the exchanges. A left hook and a right hand late in the round lifted the spirits of the Filipino crowd, but a counter right by Concepcion forced Donaire to curb his attack and instead fight in reverse.

“We’re the champions” was the translated advice to come out of Donaire’s corner prior to the 12th, as clear an indicator as any that they wanted their fighter to stay out of harm’s way.

He seemed to fight with the advice clearly in mind, though a brief scare came when he was sent to the canvas early in the round. Referee Vic Drakulich correctly ruled the sequence a slip, at which point Donaire shifted his weight to his shoulders and flipped up off of his back and onto his feet.

It proved to be the most thrilling sequence of an aggressive but sloppy final round. Both fighters tried to impose their will, but often fell short of their intended target. A long right hand late in the round snapped back the head of Concepcion, who tried to answer but caught nothing but air.

Scores of 117-111, 115-113, 116-112 gave Donaire his 21st consecutive win, as he advances to 22-1 (14KO) overall. The win was his third since joining the Top Rank stable last year. It certainly wasn’t his easiest or most impressive feat to date, though he offered a legitimate alibi at the end of the night.

“The five pounds he had on me – if he had to make 115, he’d have been down early. He ended up messing up my hand. I always say with my punches that I’ll either break his face or I’ll break my hands. In this fight, he broke my hand.”

Whenever he’s able to return, Donaire made it clear that he wants an upgrade in competition.

“I want to fight the great Mexican fighters – Fernando Montiel, Jorge Arce. Those guys are my friends, and I want to test myself against those top guys.”

To the surprise of most, he already received a test from the determined but ultimately overmatched Concepcion. The Panamanian falls to 13-4-1 (KO) with the loss, though was hardly impressed with his most recent conqueror.

“I expected a fight, a real Filipino fight, not a runner. I knew he was a great technician; I just wish he showed more of a warrior’s heart and that we would’ve exchanged a lot more.”

Donaire expected an opponent who would make the slightest effort to make the contracted weight, so everything balances out in the end.

The win gives the Filipino a title belt of sorts, though the true measure of his dominance is still built on his flyweight reign. He came into this fight having made three successful defenses of the title he violently extracted from Vic Darchinyan two years ago, a win that remains far and way his most notable to date.

Perhaps the most complete performance of his career came in his last fight, a one-sided fourth round stoppage of Raul Martinez in Manila, Philippines this past April. After the fight, Donaire expressed difficulties in continuing to make the flyweight limit, prompting the rise in weight.