Nonito Donaire vs. Nicholas Walters. WBA Featherweight title. Oct 18th

Waaters is a live dog but this early before having really thought indepth about the fight I'm leaning towards Doanire because of his experience against elite comp. With that said Walters is a huge featherweight and can bang and it won't be easy.

 

I consider Donaire the underdog, actually.

Way more elite comp experience but they're on different paths right now, one up one down.

A featherweight title bout with a young Chigurgh is No Country For Old Flyweights. :yep

 

Do you? I really need to see these two standing next to each other to give me a good idea about the size difference. Will Walters dwarf him in the ring or will his size advantage be over-stated.

 

against vetyeka, even though he was dirty donaire got him and was coming on, it took a while but he eventually caught darch 2.

handspeed is still there, walters will get careless then boom.

 

This.

I think his timing on offense is fine but the bigger guys are able to land on him much more often, which sort of makes his offense look like it's lacking but I really don't think it's the case... I think his power just doesn't move guys as much up at 122-126+ and I think he is more selective with his output because of the size increase in opposition.

 

I just kinda formed a mental picture cobbled together from memories of Donaire and Darchinyan being similar in size (exact same height of 5' 5.5" and both started their careers at flyweight in their late teens and early twenties respectively) - despite the signature Vic crouch making it seem they weren't - and Darchinyan being absolutely dwarfed by cut-from-stone natural feather Walters.

 

It took a while, exactly. Walters is a big strong powerful 126lber in his prime. Donaire has never fought anyone matching that description, and has been looking iffy with smaller, older, weaker men than Walters.

 

Do you think higher of Walters now than you did Vetyeka going into the Donaire fight?

 

:nod

I was commenting all throughout his super bantam run that his power was badly diminished even down there.

At bantam he scored those sensational and impressive knockouts of Sidorenko and Montiel (and, much as I like El Huracan, would've probably kayoed Narvaez were he not so pointedly negative) but that was the apex of his power and it plateaued sharply there at 118...more than average at 122 and 126 but hardly outstanding.

 

In terms of their overall skill and ruggedness, nah, Vetyeka had proven all of that by his meeting with Donaire whereas a lot about Walters is still a mystery. I don't know that I'm all that high on him, just awed with how damn strong he is at the weight and very hesitant to believe Donaire is equipped to cope with that size and strength at this stage.

Prime for prime I still think Donaire is a much better fighter than Walters is likely to become even if he keeps surprising us little by little on the same upward trend he is on - but youth and size have been difference makers before in exactly this kind of match-up, countless times...

 

If it's like that then Donaire may have bitten off more than he can chew.

 

Absolutely.

He was still able to drop Vazquez, Mathebula, and Nishioka but he didn't have the power or arsenal to just flatten them out like Montiel/Sidorenko (and pre-bantam)... And you could even see how Vazquez and Mathebula's size frustrated his usual offensive abilities. It doesn't get easier the higher up you go.

Considering his crazy weight jumps and now being on the wrong side of 30, all of this is to be expected (and perhaps the true surprise is in the success he found at 122).

 

The difference in size between Walters and Darchinyan (who, again, same as Donaire) was more pronounced than, for instance, that between even Broner and Rees...

 

Wow!

 

Walters does have a consistently pawing lazy jab, as dodong points out.

That is Donaire's favorite punch to counter over... Maybe his second favorite (exchanging hooks is Donaire's money).