Donaire back with a bang

MANILA, Philippines — It didn’t take long for Nonito Donaire Jr. to figure out how to break down defending WBC bantamweight champion Nordine Oubaali’s defense and when the Filipino Flash saw the light, the end came like a lightning bolt. Oubaali came out smoking, throwing and charging with no respect for Donaire’s power. Donaire waited for the opening to unleash his vaunted left hook and as the door widened, Oubaali was exposed as nowhere near the challenger’s class.

Donaire dropped Oubaali twice with left hooks in the third round then delivered the coup de grace, a left uppercut to the chin, to finish him off at 1:52 of the fourth to become the oldest fighter at 38 to capture the world 118-pound crown at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson City, near Los Angeles, Saturday night (yesterday morning, Manila time). Referee Jack Reiss could’ve stopped the carnage after Oubaali crumpled to the canvas for the second knockdown as the bell sounded to end the third canto. Oubaali barely beat the 10-count and Reiss motioned for the Frenchman to walk towards him twice, trying to evaluate if he had the legs to stand upright. Oubaali wobbled as he straddled to the wrong corner not knowing if he was in Paris or Carson City. Then and there, Reiss could’ve waved it off. But he gave the fighter the champion’s benefit of the doubt and allowed it to continue.

Oubaali’s fatal mistake was moving straight up at Donaire. He showed guts but no smarts. Donaire is a counterpuncher par excellence with the precision of an assassin firing a bazooka – give him vision and he won’t miss. Oubaali fought to Donaire’s strength, not his, and paid the price for his folly. In the first round, Donaire seemed a bit flustered by Oubaali’s high energy and volume punching. In the second, Oubaali connected with a left straight that bruised Donaire’s left eye socket and that was the signal to go to war.

“I wasn’t surprised by his energy at the start, I knew he was going to be aggressive,” Donaire told The STAR. “I studied where his punches came from, his distance, I gauged what I had to do. I wasn’t defensive, I was just figuring him out because he’s shorter and very busy. He caught me with a left straight to begin the second round and that revealed his vulnerability because I realized then that to set him up, I had to sacrifice and get hit. I knew I could get him with my left hook but I also knew I had to take his straight so he would open up.”

Donaire said Oubaali proved to be tougher than expected. “He’s a tough guy and when he went down the first time, I knew he was getting up but when I floored him a second time, I hit him really hard and I was surprised he got up,” he said. “He’s less experienced and I don’t think he’s ever been hit that hard before.”

After Reiss called a halt, Donaire knelt in front of the fallen Oubaali and put his gloves together in prayer. It was a class act. “We’re friends and I prayed for him to be OK,” he said. “Inside the ring, we’re not friends because we both want to win. But when it’s over, we’re back to being friends so that’s all I wanted to do, to pray that he’s OK and to show him respect as a champion.” Donaire said his performance had nothing to do with age. No matter how old a fighter is, he said what makes the difference is how one takes care of his body and mind. The loss dropped Oubaali’s record to 17-1, with 12 KOs while Donaire raised his mark to 41-6, with 27 KOs. Donaire earned a bonus of $40,100 for the win aside from his guaranteed purse of $144,360.