Seiya Tsutsumi vs. Nonito Donaire & Kyosuke Takami vs. René Santiago + Olascuaga vs. Kawahara RBR.

Problem with that is i dont think Donaire would're retired if he won

 

Can I ask: by Gonzalez do you mean Jonathan Gonzalez?

 

Missed this one. Was the fight any good between Donaire and Tsutsumi? Sounds like Donaire got robbed of winning the title. That really sucks. Would have been a great time for him to leave the sport with a win and as champion. He needs retire for good, no need for him to keep going this late in his career.

 

He was robbed of a draw but I don't think he was robbed of a win if that makes sense (if you really wanted to, you could score it for him, but from my perspective he won the first 6 rounds and Tsutsumi won the last 6 rounds by landing the most eye catching shots each round and pushing the pace when he needed to)

 

Crazy to think that Donaire is still among the top at 118.

 

Proud of you Champ.

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Finally got around watching this fight in full. Was a great back and forth war. Donaire seemed like he was in control early and even had Tsutsumi badly hurt at times but he clearly faded down the stretch in the second half. He still has dangerous power but just couldn't dent a tough warrior like Tsutsumi who just kept coming forward. Unfortunately Donaire's age started to show with his stamina. Still thought Donaire edged it 7-5 although a draw might have been more fair. One judge had Tsutsumi winning 117-111 which is outrageous. Very good fight overall though. Hopefully Donaire decides to call it quits, he's been in too many tough fights for him to keep continuing unnecessarily.

 

Not seen the fight, and Donaire is a true warrior. If he is competitive with fighters 10-15 years younger than him, is it too much for him to continue? Of course I wouldn;t want to see him get seriously hurt but can he run it back with todays version of Rigo or Casimero if he is still willing.

Honestly I thought he was going to pack it in after the loss to Magdelano or even Frampton, but even assessing his career after those fights he has pulled out decent performances at world level, even going down to 118.

 

Tsutsumi vs Donaire.

Round 1 Tsutsumi 10-9 Close
Round 2 Donaire 10-9
Round 3 Donaire 10-9
Round 4 Donaire 10-9
Round 5 Donaire 10-9
Round 6 Donaire 10-9 Close
Round 7 Tsutsumi 10-9
Round 8 Tsutsumi 10-9
Round 9 Tsutsumi 10-9
Round 10 Tsutsumi 10-9
Round 11 Donaire 10-9 Close
Round 12 Tsutsumi 10-9

114-114

Japanese fighters often get the short end of the stick in their own country. The verdict for this fight was fair, it was extremely competitive and throughout the contest both showed incredible grit and determination. However, I am gutted that Donaire didn't get the decision. For his age, he was terrific. And part of me kinda wanted Tsutsumi to get jobbed in this one. 117-111 score is just ****ing ridiculous.

The fight itself was an intense high octane tactical bout. Tsutsumi's game plan was to move around the ring to force Donaire to overexerted himself, to tire him out, with later on to overwhelm him during the second half. The strategy was transparent, albeit well executed for the most part. Donaire, on the other hand, fought brilliantly in the first half. Compusure, counter punching, precision, everything was on point. Even during the second half of the fight, he blocked and evaded most Tsutsumi's shots. Obviously his age couldn't allow him to fight the same way as before. If he was 3 or 4 years younger, he would have won.

After the fight, Tsutsumi expressed his desire to face Ioka next on the Inoue-Nakatani card. Personally, the best possible choice for him is to move up. This was a hard fight, he took hellacious shots. Even in the Higa rematch he was badly hurt. He looked weight drained and gaunt in both fights. With what happened to Kazuki Anaguchi, I hope Tsutsumi makes the correct choice and looks after his health.

Not to end things on a downer. 118 is very wide open. Rodriguez will move up sometime next year. With the new champions (Medina and Salas), from the old guard (Ioka, Estrada, T.Inoue) and the contenders, this division could wind up with some really exciting fights to make!

 

Donaire all dressed up as right after being in a grueling fight with Tsutsumi. What a warrior.

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