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 Year of the Filipino Fighters
By David A. Avila (June 20, 2004)
Photo © HoganPhotos.com
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MONTEBELLO, CA.-You might call this the Year of the Filipino fighters.
First it was Manny Pacquiao and now we have the Donaire brothers.
Before a standing room crowd at the Quiet Cannon, Nonito and Glenn Donaire brought their lightning firepower to Southern California against respectable competition and electrified the fans with their rapid combinations. The fights were promoted by All Star Boxing.
It was the Donaire’s first appearance in Southern California. Both fight in Northern California.
First Glenn Donaire (12-1, 7 KOs) met Yucatan, Mexico’s Leonardo Castillo (4-1, 3 KOs) in a six round junior flyweight bout that was mostly one-sided.
"It was embarrassing for me. I fought horrible," said Donaire, who had to drop nine pounds in two days after a flyweight opponent canceled. It proved too much for Glenn who goes by the nickname "Filipino Bomber". "I couldn’t move. I always heard other fighters say they couldn’t move like when Shane Mosley fought Winky Wright. That’s what happened to me tonight."
Despite his purported lack of energy, Donaire dominated the slick-moving Castillo with hellfire punches, which resulted in a first round knockdown. An exchange of punches by both fighters resulted in a Donaire left hook dropping the Yucatan fighter who shakily got up. After that, the race was on.
Castillo had felt Donaire’s power and did not want a return engagement as he skittered around the ring for four consecutive rounds. In that span, he did land a right uppercut that busted Donaire’s nose, resulting in a steady stream of blood for the rest of the fight.
In the fifth round, Castillo mounted a small rally by throwing repeated combinations as Donaire covered up. It was the only round the Mexican fighter won.
The Filipino fighter who lives now in San Leandro proved too strong for Castillo.
"He was a tough guy, a real tough guy," Donaire said of Castillo. "But that wasn’t the real me. I can fight a lot better."
Bantamweight Nonito Donaire (8-1, 6 KOs) faced former contender Ricardo Barrera (16-5-1, 13 KOs), who had not fought in four years. The Yucatan, Mexico fighter had lost to current IBF champion Rafael Marquez and that proved the benchmark for the fight.
"I wanted to knock him out earlier than Rafael Marquez," said Nonito Donaire, whose nickname "Flash" fits him well. "I couldn’t do it, that guy was good. He took everything I threw at him."
Nonito started quickly, throwing blazing combinations and wicked uppercuts. Barrera moved slowly as if in quicksand and seemed two speeds slower than his opponent. By the end of the first round Barrera’s left eye was swollen. It proved too much of a handicap against the quick-fisted Donaire.
By the third round, Barrera’s eye was completely closed and he was forced to retreat. But when the doctor warned him he was about to stop the fight, Barrera stormed out in the fourth round ferociously. Landing rights and lefts, Barrera attempted the knockout and motioned Donaire to stand and exchange. The Filipino fighter shook his head and motioned that he was fighting smart. It was the intelligent thing to do. At the end of the round ringside physician Dr. Pearlman Hicks stopped the fight.
"He’s got power," Donaire said of Barrera. "He’s been in top fights against great fighters and he took it all."
The brothers were a big hit with fans in Montebello who enjoyed their aggressive style and lightning strikes.
"We want to fight in Southern California again," said Glenn Donaire.
In other bouts, Joey Aragon (2-2) traded knockdowns with debuting Miguel Figueroa (0-1) in a battle of middleweights. Aragon went down in the second round from a right hand but got up immediately and rallied that same round. The following round a counter right hand dropped Figueroa, who struggled to get up but managed to recover. Both fighters landed heavy blows in the fourth and final round. The judges scored the fight 38-36 twice and 39-36 for Aragon.
Aragon, a former professional baseball player, showed better pacing in this fight and crisper punching. At times he telegraphed blows but his knockdown of former kickboxing champion Figueroa was a 12-inch punch that caught him walking in.
"We’ve been working on that," said Aragon who is trained by Charles Williams, the father of heavyweight contender Jeremy Williams. "I’m still learning."
Commissioner Dean Lohuis told Aragon his pacing and technique looked much better.
"He was a relaxed boxer in there," said Lohuis. "Each fight has been a progression."
Welterweights Francisco Zepeda and Jorge Aguilar fought to a draw a year ago so they met in a rematch. Once again both ended the fight in a majority draw. The judges scored the fight 60-54 Aguilar, and 57-57 twice for a draw.
In an amateur exhibition match Riverside’s Mike Franco fought against North Hollywood’s Juan Vega. Franco repeatedly out-punched and out-maneuvered Vega with combinations and jabs to the body. Franco trains at the War Zone boxing club in Corona.
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