Champ knew it all along

MANILA, Philippines - Newly crowned WBC/WBO bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire Jr. said yesterday he expected Fernando Montiel to fight the way he did and knew exactly how the scheduled 12-round bout would end.

There were no surprises, said Donaire who knocked out Montiel at 2:25 of the second round to wrest the WBC/WBO bantamweight titles at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas last Saturday night (yesterday morning, Manila).

“I knew he would load up with the left hand,” said Donaire in his hotel suite after the fight. “I knew he wouldn’t move away. He didn’t show anything different. I dropped my left arm to bait him to throw the right instead of the left. But I noticed he still kept throwing the left. I made sure I protected my right side. I was comfortable fighting at a distance. I could reach him but he couldn’t reach me. As soon as he threw a right, I countered with my left and that was it.”

Montiel, touted as a proficient technician, had no antidote for Donaire’s speed and power. He couldn’t box because his length was not enough. He couldn’t move in and out because Donaire was too quick with his counters. There wasn’t much he could do. He gambled on mixing it up and in the second round, landed a few lefts that caught Donaire’s attention. But Donaire was in absolute control of the action.

A thinking fighter, Donaire wanted Montiel to use his less potent right more than his dangerous left. So he gave Montiel the opening by lowering his left arm. Donaire practically pleaded for Montiel to throw the right as he exposed his left side.

“I don’t know if Montiel figured out what I was doing but he kept throwing the left just the same until that moment when he went with the right and I countered with a left,” said Donaire.

Another thing that didn’t surprise Donaire was Montiel not going to the body. “I knew he wouldn’t risk going to the body because I’m quick to counter and he’s shorter,” said Donaire. “He did exactly what I thought he’d do.”

Donaire also said he predicted, as early as three months ago, he would knock out Montiel in the second round.

Donaire’s father-in-law Gerry Marcial confirmed the prediction. “That was when Jun just found out the Montiel fight was a go,” said Marcial. “He told me he’d knock out Montiel in two. I told him he’d do it in six. But he was sure. He wouldn’t change his mind. He promised a second round knockout and delivered.”

Marcial said right from the onset, Donaire had Montiel’s number. “When I saw Montiel get hurt in the first round with a jab, I knew it wasn’t going to last very long,” said Marcial. “The atmosphere was electrifying. In the second round, Montiel fought a little more aggressively, like it was his last-ditch stand. He wanted to knock out Jun and was willing to gamble getting knocked out. Montiel probably thought he could knock out Jun like he knocked out (Hozumi) Hasegawa.”

Montiel, 31, wanted to go down fighting like brave champions do. He didn’t want to lose on a bicycle, running away from a challenger. Montiel and Donaire both predicted they would win by a knockout. The Mexican thought he could beat Donaire to the draw. He was wrong.

Donaire said his options are to unify the bantamweight division by taking on the winner of the Joseph Agbeko-Abner Mares fight on April 23 or challenge WBO superbantamweight Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. of Puerto Rico. Agbeko, a Ghanaian, has a 28-2 record, with 22 KOs, and holds wins by decision over Vic Darchinyan and Yonnhy Perez. Mares, a Mexican, boasts a 21-0-1 record, with 13 KOs. Vazquez, 26, has a 20-0-1 record, with 17 KOs, and once stopped Filipino Marvin Sonsona in four rounds.

Eventually, Donaire said he hopes to battle WBO featherweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez of Puerto Rico. Lopez, 27, stakes his crown against Orlando Salido in San Juan on April 16 and has a 30-0 record, with 27 KOs. His last three victims were Rafael Marquez, Filipino Bernabe Concepcion and Steven Luevano who all lost by knockout.

Donaire and wife Rachel will fly to Manila late this month. Donaire said he will be at ringside for stablemate Brandon Rios’ fight against Miguel Acosta for the WBA lightweight crown in Las Vegas on Feb. 26. Both Donaire and Rios are trained by former IBF superfeatherweight champion Robert Garcia. After the Rios bout, Donaire will leave for Manila and celebrate with his Filipino fans.

Donaire and his wife were married in a civil ceremony in a San Francisco suburb on Aug, 8, 2008. They plan a Catholic church wedding in Alabang on Nov. 11 this year.