Donaire Stops Nishioka, But Rios Is the Night’s Brightest Star

by Kieran Mulvaney

Mike Alvarado, Brandon Rios - Photo Credit: Ed Mulholland

The task for Nonito Donaire was twofold.

Most obviously and simply, he had to defeat Toshiaki Nishioka -- on the face of it, no easy task, given that the classy Japanese boxer was undefeated in eight years and had recently dispatched possible future Hall-of-Famer Rafael Marquez.

But he carried the extra burden of a man of whom much is expected: after a series of relatively underwhelming title defenses, the junior featherweight who is regarded as one of the best fighters, pound-for-pound, in the world had to do more than win. He had to win impressively.

In the early going, it appeared that one of those tasks could be checked off the list without too much concern. For the first few rounds, Nishioka didn’t so much show Donaire respect as outright reverence. His right hand glued to the side of his head to protect against Donaire’s vaunted left hook, he seemed reticent to deploy his southpaw left hand for fear of what incoming artillery he might receive in response. 

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CompuBox Analysis: Donaire vs. Nishioka

by CompuBox

Few fighters have walked the gauntlet Nonito Donaire has over the past two years. In that time he crushed current flyweight titlist Hernan Marquez in eight rounds, then blasted former bantamweight titlist Wladimir Sidorenko in four, crushed two-belt titleholder Fernando Montiel in two and scored decisive decisions over Omar Narvaez and Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. (a split decision that should have been unanimous) and Jeffrey Mathebula (a unanimous decision that should have been split).

For "The Filipino Flash" there is no rest for the weary, for just three months after the demanding battle with Mathebula he is tackling who many consider the best 122-pounder in the world, longtime WBC titlist Toshiaki Nishioka, who at 36 is riding an eight-year, 16-fight winning streak. Additionally, Nishioka is coming off an eye-opening decision victory over Rafael Marquez, an impressive performance that also took place 11 long months ago.

See more Compubox analysis of Nonito Donaire vs. Toshiaki Nishioka on HBO.com.

Why Rios-Alvarado Could Steal the Show on Saturday Night

by Kieran Mulvaney

The headline act for this Saturday’s HBO Boxing After Dark from Carson, CA is the junior featherweight title tilt between Nonito Donaire and Toshiaki Nishioka. It’s a high-quality matchup between two world-class pugilists, and by itself is worth staying in on a Saturday night.

But the co-main event is the kind of battle that has hardcore fans salivating, has them telling their friends, “Dude, whatever you do, do not miss this,” has them looking at the calendars on their walls and the watches on their wrists and counting down the hours and days.

Even the fighters involved recognize that, before a single hand has been wrapped, let alone a solitary punch thrown, many fans are dubbing it the potential ‘Fight of the Year’:

“It’s pretty cool that people are saying that,” said Brandon Rios, the lightweight titlist who is moving up to 140 pounds for this contest. “That it could hit the ‘Gatti list’ -- that would be awesome.”

His opponent, junior welterweight contender Mike Alvarado, is more circumspect. “I don’t really hear or pay attention to what the other people say,” he says. But he too recognizes the likelihood that it’s “going to be an explosive, entertaining fight.”

What is responsible for the heightened anticipation? It isn’t that both combatants are undefeated, with similar records (Alvarado is 33-0 with 23 KOs; Rios is 30-0-1 with 22 stoppages), although the fact that they have yet to taste defeat, even though both have fought quality opposition, is a testament to what the two men bring to the ring.

To truly understand the enthusiasm, watch the way Rios beat up Anthony Peterson so comprehensively that the then-unbeaten fighter resorted to fouling him repeatedly to secure disqualification as an escape from further punishment. Or the way, behind on points after five rounds, he rallied to drop the highly-fancied Miguel Acosta three times and stop him in the tenth; or the way he flattened Urbano Antillon in three rounds in his first defense of the title he ripped from Acosta.

Or cast your mind back to the undercard of last year’s third Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez clash, when for seven rounds Alvarado was being outboxed by Amir-Khan-conqueror Breidis Prescott, until suddenly a light appeared to go on and Alvarado began attacking Prescott with requisite urgency. First Prescott looked uncomfortable. Then he looked weary. Then he looked badly hurt. Then, in the tenth, he was down on the canvas, and although he got up, a few more hellacious punches sent him halfway out of the ropes until referee Jay Nady stepped in to save him. The subsequent description of Alvarado heard in the media room postfight was of the two-word variety: the first word was ‘bad’ and the second word rhymed with ‘grass.’

There is nothing fancy about Rios: He is a straight-ahead, face-first pressurizing slugger. If Alvarado has a few more tools in his toolbox, he’s unlikely to reach for them. There will be no matador in this ring, just two bulls charging at each other with heads down.

So grab the beer and the soda, the chips and the pizza. Don’t wait until Bob Papa has finished his set-up before you sit down. This bout is going to start fast, and it’s likely to stay that way, for as long as it lasts.

Dudes, do not miss this.

Nishioka Lies in Wait for Donaire

by Kieran Mulvaney

The attention, as always, is on Nonito Donaire. Donaire is the star, 122 pounds of skill and charisma. Donaire is the one who knocked out Vic Darchinyan, and who hit Fernando Montiel so hard he left an indentation in the side of his head. Donaire is the one widely regarded as one of the top half-dozen talents in boxing.

But Donaire is also a fighter who has at times looked more pedestrian than all-powerful in his past few outings. That hasn’t entirely been his fault: It takes two to tango, and a couple of his recent dance partners appeared as if they would have been more than happy to sit out the opportunity to quickstep with Donaire. Omar Narvaez barely bothered to show up at all, his ambition apparently limited to being able to return to Argentina and boast that he lasted twelve rounds. Jeffrey Mathebula used his lengthy reach to keep the Filipino at bay as best he could, but beyond that brought little to the table to disrupt Donaire’s progress. Sandwiched in between, Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. did make a fight of it, and despite being knocked down for his troubles, he pushed Donaire to a split decision.

Yet, despite the excuses about reticent opponents, and despite the obvious point that he is continuing to defeat those opponents -- and normally by quite large margins -- there is something about Donaire of late that has seemed a little … well, not quite right. It is almost as if he has read too many of his own press clippings, or fallen in love with the hype that accompanied his annihilation of Montiel. Or perhaps he’s just trying to keep things interesting for himself -- this is, after all, the man who inexplicably turned southpaw in a 2010 contest with Hernan Marquez that he was winning by a country mile. Whatever the case, Donaire has of late seemed all too willing to abandon the fundamentals in favor of dipping low, dropping his hands, leaping in from a crouch -- whatever it takes to confuse his foe, entertain the fans, and prevent himself from falling asleep.

That may work against the likes of Omar Narvaez. It could be a recipe for disaster against Toshiaki Nishioka.

If you haven’t heard of Nishioka, it’s likely because he has spent much of his career boxing in his native Japan. But he is, as the British say, no mug. His last defeat was in 2004. His last victory was against future Hall-of-Famer Rafael Marquez. He is a southpaw with excellent boxing skills. And while he doesn’t have a reputation as a power puncher, he has stopped nine of his last 12 foes.

He is, in other words, absolutely not the kind of opponent to take lightly. Candidly, he is a genuine candidate to pull off the upset victory. This is a dangerous fight for Donaire.

If there is a knock against Nishioka, it is his age -- he is 35 -- and his inactivity: He has not fought since outpointing Marquez a year ago. But he has deliberately held himself out of the ring, wanting to use the Marquez win as a springboard to at least one more big fight. It doesn’t get much bigger than Donaire.

Nishioka, then, is focused and ready. Donaire will need to be, too, if he is to overcome the genuine challenge he faces on Saturday night.

Donaire and Rios Bring a Bloody Night of High-Stakes Action

by Eric Raskin

Nonito Donaire - Photo Credit: Ed Mulholland

One is a perfect gentleman, the other a foul-mouthed troublemaker. One is a slick speed demon, the other a rough-and-tumble brawler. You can be forgiven for thinking that Nonito Donaire and Brandon Rios don’t have a whole lot in common.

But they are united by ambition and upward trajectory. Neither Donaire nor Rios is interested in maintaining his status quo. They’re both expanding -- quite literally by rising up the weight scale, and figuratively by taking the steps necessary to the increase their fan bases and the thickness of their wallets.

And Donaire and Rios will next be demonstrating those various ambitions in the same ring (at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA) on the same night (October 13) with the same trainer (Robert Garcia) working double duty. What makes this one of the year’s hottest fight cards is that even though Donaire and Rios are the clear promotional “A-sides” in their respective halves of the doubleheader, they are not clear favorites to win. These are not “showcase” fights for two ascendant stars. Donaire faces Toshiaki Nishioka, the most established belt-holder in the junior featherweight division, and Rios takes on Mike Alvarado, who is undefeated in 33 pro fights and coming off back-to-back Fight of the Year candidates.

How do you increase your fan base and the thickness of your wallet? By taking fights like these.

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