I see this being an even fight. I know Doanire is the better fighter but Romero did very well against Tapia. Thoughts?
Donaire wins! I am a pretty big Romero appreciator, but he does not win this. The question is does he last the distance? I think it’s 50/50 there. Romero was good and tough, but Donaire was elite.
A very good scrap. However, Donaire was a tier above, plus he was an excellent weight bully. He would be incredibly physical, and style-wise he excels against Boxer-Punchers who veer to the offensive, especially if they have more static rhythms - which is what Romero very fundamentally is. Doanire is brilliant at catching a rhythm and throwing an offbeat counter, as he did to the likes of Darchinyan and Nishioka and even Inoue. Donaire KO is my bet.
Also, in my opinion, this is just a style thing. Romero was a very consistent fighter, well schooled fundamentally, whilst Tapia was incredibly mercurial and would eschew his awesome skills for intuition at times. I don't find it surprising Romero picked up form in the bout whilst Tapia veered. At the most important points (the start and the end, mainly), it was clear who the better, higher class fighter was imo - Tapia. I have picked Donaire over Romero in my previous comment, but I think Donaire would come undone against Tapia (not easily, mind, of course), especially if he boxed as mentally disciplined as in the Konadu bout.
