Before he moved up a bridge too far and running into the nightmare that was Rigondeaux at SBW he was a H2H monster at Flyweight, Super Flyweight, and Bantamweight. Looking back at his fights I think he was at his absolute best when he fought Raul Martinez up until Montiel. He was so good that he was able to do anything in the ring, before he fell in love with his power. One could imagine how it would be if Inoue fought the Donaire that brutalized Sydorenko or KO'd Montiel to oblivion. Let's all remember the Flipino Flash at his peak, what a fighter he was: This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected
That was the "how the F did got up from that?!" fight. Just look at the damage he did to Montiel's cranium.
That win over Montiel was great. I believe he was coming of that win over Hasegawa. But Donaire just smashed him. Hasegawa was one that I would've wanted to see fight Nonito. He was awesome. I think Donaire would've snuck a left hook for the win after being way down on the cards. All the fighters around this weight at the time, for 5-10 years, are extremely underrated IMO. Donaire, Nishioka, Darchinyan, Hasegawa, Sahaphrom, etc. Very special guys H2H. I'd pick atleast a few to beat Inoue.
Too bad he didn't fight any of the four or five best Bantams at his peak. Perez, Mares, Moreno, and Agbeko were all better than that midget Montiel.
Nah I think Montiel was better. Those guys mentioned had their own tournament, as I recall. And I also remember that Donaire was supposed to face Moreno around 2011 but that fight never happened because Moreno turned down the fight. I would have wanted to see Donaire fight those guys mentioned. Too bad they all didn't really amount to much.
Sidorenkos face was a ****ing mess that fight.... N that second knockdown is. Peach Fave nonito ko is probably the arce one.. But he has so many.. Maybe best left hook I've ever seen
Donaire is P4P one of the hardest hitters ever. You almost never see power like his in the lower weight classes. The only other small fighter who had legitimate 1 punch knockout power in either hand that I can think of off the top of my head is Hamed.
So are you also saying that guys like ODLH, Arturo Gatti, Thomas Hearns, Alexis Arguello, Gerald McClellan, Ricardo Lopez, Vernon Forrest, Hilario Zapata, Raul Perez, Mark Breland, Paul Williams, Diego Corrales, Terence Crawford, Devin Haney, etc. are also weight bullies since they appear larger than their opponent?
The KO of Montiel was straight up gangsta. I was a pretty big fan of Fernando's, thought he was just starting to get the recognition after being under the radar for a few years. But Nonito brutally burst that bubble. I hope Donaire retires and bows out with that last performance. He really has had a great career.
