Just watched Donaire vs. Narvaez

Terrible fight. There are 4 people/entities that get the blame for this fiasco, and here they are in this order;

1. Top Rank - Bad match making. What was the point of this fight? No one knows who Narvaez is. The guy is way too small for Donaire. Not only that, but he didn't have the power to hurt Donaire, nor the attributes to win a decision. Narvaez knew he couldn't win and basically told the HBO guys before the fight that his plan was to show he could go 12 rounds. So what happens when you drag a 36 year old fighter,who has never been kd, up a division, to fight a much bigger guy who is a big puncher and that he can't outbox or knock out? You get what happened on Saturday.

2. Donaire - I'm not sure why everyone is quick to absolve him of any blame for this fight. Donaire absolutely dwarfed that guy. He had 4 inches and probably 10+ lbs. on his opponent. That's a lot for BW. He claims he did everything he could. No he didn't. The few times Narvaez attacked him, he was skipping away. Where was the body punching? Where was the hooks to the side of the head? Lederman made a great point about Donaire stepping to the side and attacking Narvaez's liver. He didn't do that. All he did was come straight ahead and throw the same combos over and over. What's worse is that he seemed to let his frustrations affect his performance. No matter what, you have to stay focused in there.

3. Narvaez - He's gotten too much blame. He didn't come to win, so he deserves criticism for that. However, what did he have to gain by trying to win? Boxing is a unique sport. In most sports, the worst that happens from giving it your all, is that you lose. In boxing, lay it all on the line, could result in you getting brutally knocked out. That doesn't mean guys should pack it in just because they're overmatched. However, the deck was completely stacked against this guy. He was facing a guy much bigger, stronger, younger, faster, and who is a very big puncher. Navarez has little power, he had no way win this fight on his opponent's home turf.

4. HBO - Stop approving this pointless mismatches. Donaire shouldn't be back on HBO unless he's fighting a big name, or come forward puncher with little regard for defense.

 

I agree, it was a good learning experience. Or I should say, it was a good opportunity for a learning experience. Donaire doesn't seem to think he did anything wrong.

 

i'm sorry, but there wasn't much body work by Donaire in that fight.

 

That sounds about right. To be honest though, I wasn't too interested in scoring the fight. I knew Narvaez couldn't win.

 

There was no inside work either. Every time Narvaez came at him, he skipped away. Donaire really isn't a young fighter anymore. He's almost 29. He is who he is at this point. I still think he's an excellent fighter, but there are definitely some holes in his game. However, he has enough attributes to make it hard for anyone to exploit those holes.

 

Yeah, very few fighters take body shots well. It seemed that Donaire grew impatient. Working the body in boxing sometimes seems like using the backboard in basketball. Both are very effective, but don't quite provide the ohs and ahs that head shots, and nothing but net baskets do.