I must admit, i'm not really a hardcore Montiel follower. I started following him after the talks of how impressive his KO win in 2010, followed him 'til then and only watched youtubes of his fights. So, to the real boxing geeks here: How did he deserve being in the top 10 P4P list boggles me a bit? Maybe the way how easy Donaire (the difference in class is paramount) finished him is just playing in me?
no. I watched the fight this morning. It was basically a 50/50 fight until that KO. Noone really establishing dominance.
His wins over nine world champion in three different weight classes, being a three-division, four-time world champion, a unified world champion in his third championship weight class where he brutally dethroned a double-digit defending title-holder and being 17-2 in world title fights. Probably.
just maybe. on a side note was that not the best god damn Boxing After Dark show ever? Practically PPV quality?
Also to add he was a considerable underdog against Hasegawa(#1 in the division at the time) and Castillo(#2 in the division at the time). When he faced them and won by early KO's in both. His 3 division reign is legit and quite impressive.
if his hasegawa win was a fluke, hasegawa would have demanded and agreed to an immediate rematch. the thing is , he wants no piece of montiel
Kellerman in the post fight interview: "Oh, my God. What just happened?" Not necessarily, asero. Hasegawa jumped two divisions after that. He could've just been unsure about making the weight again.
Because he knocked out the guy who was for a long-time the best bantamweight in the world in his backyard having just moved up to the weight. He was also excellent at lower weights before and that combined with his ability is why he was top 10 P4P. Don't let the way in which Donaire dispatched him fool you; Montiel is world-class, Donaire - within today's pool of talent - is merely a class apart and something special.
I was actually thinking that Hasegawa was leading the scorecards. He looks like it and the judges scorecards agree with me. Then wham!
And there you have it. deal That he knocked out that double-digit defending, P4P caliber champ as the visiting fighter halfway around the world is icing on the cake.