SAN DIEGO – July 7, 2012 – Nonito Donaire needed to put on flashy fight with lots of action worthy of his nickname tonight against Jeffrey Mathebula to continue his rise in the sport of boxing. He didn’t get a knockout, but it was an action-packed fight and far from the boring decision fight against Vasquez.
The “Filipino Flash” won a unanimous decision from three international judges against the South African Mathebula in the outdoor venue at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. Donaire was aided by an impressive fourth round knockdown via a left hook, which came late enough in the round to let Mathebula recover and continue the fight. Donaire also hit Mathebula’s jaw hard enough in the 11th round to inflict some sort of serious damage, stopping Mathebula’s punch output cold as he focused on covering up and hanging on. It was later reported the blow had broken one of Mathebula’s teeth and it was extremely painful. He was bleeding badly from the mouth after the round.
Jeffrey Mathebula found himself on the canvas near the end of round 4 getting the count from referee Pat Russell after a left hook by Nonito Donaire. Photo: Chris Farina/Top Rank.
Donaire had to overcome a nearly five-inch height disadvantage and did so with a variety of punches. For much of the fight he sought a big knockout punch of the type that took down opponents like Vic Darchinyan and Fernando Montiel. Donaire almost got one, saying it was the same kind of punch he knocked out Montiel with, but he wasn’t balanced on his feet, otherwise it would have ended the fight.
Mathebula (26-4-2) came back and won several of the middle rounds with a tremendous effort, taking away Donaire’s more powerful punches and landing plenty of good shots of his own. He hits hard, but he doesn’t have the power shot potential of Donarie.
The judges scored it across the board for Donaire, 117-110, 118-109 and 119-108. Donaire landed a lower percentage of punches thrown, but more power punches overall.
“It was fun. I really had a good time,” said Donaire. Donaire says he would now like to be the unified champion with at least three of four belts at 122 pounds before going up another weight class. So who’s next for Donaire? “(Toshioka) Nishioka is a great fighter, (Abner) Mares, (Guillermo) Rigondeaux. One more belt and I’m good to go to 126.”
Donaire and Mathebula put on the kind of show fans love, which Donaire needed even more than the actual victory. Here’s hoping whoever Donaire faces next, we see more of the same.
If you missed the bout, HBO will rebroadcast the Donaire/Mathebula fight on Sunday morning at 10 a.m., and on Tuesday at 12:30 a.m.
Kelly Pavlik and Will Rosinsky both looked good in their undercard fight, but Pavlik was in control throughout. Photo: Chris Farina/Top Rank.
In the undercard fight, former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik won with authority in his unanimous decision over New York Fire Department EMT Will Rosinsky. Kelly Pavlik, now 40-2, 34 KOs, had a minor knockdown of Rosinsky in the second round and won decisively with scorecards of 98-91 from judges Fritz Werner and Barry Druxman, and 97-92 from Jack Reiss. Pavlik landed more punches for more power with a higher percentage.
For his part, Rosinsky, now 16-2, 9KOs, stood in well and showed great conditioning against Pavlik. No doubt he learned a great deal from this fight that he can take forward. He demonstrated the potential to develop into a good fighter. Pavlik was cut over the left eye, but it was tough to tell whether it came from a punch or a head butt. It was no matter as the fight went all ten rounds.
Rosinsky’s fiancée was extremely vocal ringside and could be heard throughout the fight, which brought her a lot of catcalls via Twitter. She needs to dial it back in the future as it’s got to be a distraction, or at least an embarrassment to Rosinsky.
Gayle Lynn Falkenthal, APR, is President/Owner of the Falcon Valley Group in San Diego, California. She is also a serious boxing fan covering the Sweet Science for Communities. Read more Ringside Seat in the Communities at The Washington Times. Follow Gayle on Facebook and on Twitter @PRProSanDiego. Gayle can be reached via Google +
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