Has Nonito Donaire got the potential to be the next Manny Pacquiao?

Thats also true, I always think of him as younger than he is. Even though I've said this about myself before.

I think potentially he could go to 130 if he started moving up quickly starting like...tomorrow. But he probably won't ever go that far anyway.

 

He could always prove me wrong but I think all things considered I'd bet him not being a force past 126.

 

Huge obstacle in the shape of Gamboa up at 126lbs waiting for him.....

 

Gamboa is moving up to 130 :barf

Anywho I don't mind him moving up to 122, normally I really hate fighters that move from there weight division when there are solid opponents left for them to face, and especially when they use the Floyd mantra of I don't need to face them because I have proven that I would beat them :nut.

However, in this instance I think Donaire has such a physical advantages over the other fighters at Bantamweight with his height, speed and power that I don't mind seeing him move up, especially seeing as if he were to do this he would likely take on Nishioka and Rigondeaux.

 

Royalt :happy

And I agree with every word of your post.

Yuriorkis has already said 126 is no problem if it's a fight with Nonito :good

 

I don't know why Gamboa is considered a sure bet by the way. Theres no saying what happens if Donaire lands one of his textbook counter hooks. He could definitely put Gamboa over and probably out. Nobodies have put him over and while I don't think he's been really hurt, he could definitely be by Donaire super fly or not. Gamboa is in a lot of danger every time he attacks in that fight such are the fundamentals and timing of Donaire. And yes his power would be effective especially if Gamboa runs onto stuff which he has a high likelihood of doing. I don't see them just bouncing of Yuriorkis. If you're a natural puncher and have natural timing I don't really think its going to make a difference at these weight classes that much, Pacquiao could punch right up to super feather. It's when you get into the junior welters and welters where its certainly accumulation territory against good chins.

 

Gary Russell is the future. Very active fighter.

 

Pac could punch right up to Light Welter. And judging by his 2nd knockdown of Cotto, at 147 as well.

 

I don't get this Gary Russell stuff. Never seen him, is it an in-joke or what?

And if it is a joke, tell me straight FFS.

 

I don't think Pacquiao really punches at welter. Although he has faced some unreasonably sturdy chins so it might be a little unfair. I mean the difference between Mosley and Pacquiao's natural power has been fairly evident. He possibly really does punch at 140 though since there is quite a big size disparity typically between those divisions. Hard to say since he wasn't there long enough.

 

Nah GRJr is actually a good prospect. A very good prospect. I thought he was just some **** that was getting lucky fighting bums somewhere that helped gaz to his trophy, but turns out he was good.

 

Kinda mate. He is a very fast, skilled fighter but the jury is still out on whether he can live up to his billing and do it in world class. One to watch, could be special but not a sure thing.

TFFP hates him I had him in my "Stars of the Future" team and he was pretty active racking up points for me.:hey

 

They're all individual cases though, susceptibility. Nishioka's bigger than, say, Agbeko, but he's still no less (he's even more in fact) susceptible to the kind of shots that Donaire throws. The majority of the heavier fighters will have more endurance certainly, but I can't imagine all of them being any less liable to be caught than their lighter counterparts.

Even still, all I think Donaire needs in terms of carrying power is bringing up enough to garner the respect of his opponent, because he has the skill to outbox pretty much all of them. And even then that's worst case scenario, explosive fighters tend to wield more power upon an ascent in weight than the kind of fighters that are merely heavy-handed types, and Donaire is very explosive.

 

^^Nail on head. Explosive power > heavy handed power. Sort of goes without saying really, but the amount of people that just make the blanket statement that a smaller fighters power won't transfer is silly. That is a decent general rule, but its still a case by case basis.

Infact I think this goes for moving up in general, if you're an explosive athlete you've got a head start because you don't need to rely on other attributes that can be hindered up in weight. You also tend to carry the weight better if you have good genetics. Pacquiao = good at welterweight, Marquez = not so good for these reasons.

 

The 2 big (rather glaring!!) issues when assessing his future career North of 126 are that he's still fighting at bantamweight and he's 29 years old.