On 2007, Nonito "The Filipino Flash" Donaire knocked out the then unbeaten Vic Darchinyan to become a world champion. Now, almost three years later, the affable Donaire is still in search of his next signature win.
In the off-chance that Nonito Donaire stumbles upon this post, here’s something he ought to know: It’s time to start fighting the best Mr. Donaire, and you should do it now, as in ASAP.
No more second-tier guys like Raul Martinez, Luis Maldonado, and Moruti Mthalas. No more no-names like Rafael Concepcion and Manuel Vargas. It’s time for you to go after the best of the best, and that means a rematch with Armenian loudmouth Vic Darchinyan and fights with junior bantamweight contenders Hugo Cazares and Nobuo Nashiro. That means a jump to bantamweight and fights with champions Fernando Montiel, Yonnhy Perez, and Hozumi Hasegawa. That means invading the junior featherweight division and challenging titleholders Toshiaki Nishioka, Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym, and Wilfredo Vazquez Jr.
It’s time for you to prove that you deserve to be called “The Filipino Flash,” that you’re every bit as good as the true Flash of Philippine boxing, Gabriel “Flash” Elorde. It’s time for you to prove that you deserve the celebrity status you now enjoy and that you deserve to be the rightful heir to Manny Pacquiao’s soon-to-be-vacated throne as the country’s best boxer.
On a personal level, it’s time for you to find out what you're really made of, to find out just how good you really are. It’s time for you to find out exactly where you are amongst boxing’s elite, and you can only do all these things by fighting the best, in fighting the Montiels and the Darchinyans and the Cazareses and the Nashiros, not the Concepcions and the Vargases and the Martinezes.
You ought to understand that one win, no matter how spectacular, does not make a career great, that your sensational knockout of Vic Darchinyan—to date your one and only signature win—is not exactly the stuff of legends. It’s not even enough to put you in the conversation as one of the fight game’s real elite or even its mythical pound-for-pound list, which is topped inarguably by Pacquiao. You have to realize that a great win does not define a career; what defines a career are wins over elite opponents.
See, Pacquiao himself did not become number 1 in that mythical pound-for-pound list by knocking out stiffs and no-names and second-tier guys. He became numero uno by beating up big name, top-of-the-line fighters like Marco Antonio Barrerra, Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Miguel Cotto. Pacman defined his career with career-defining wins, with legend-building knockouts. (Of course, Pacquaio did maim a bunch of stiffs and sacrificial lambs and low-level fighters along the way, but when it came to fight the crème de la crème, he was always up to the challenge.)
There’s your blueprint to greatness, Mr. Donaire, but apparently, you already have a fight scheduled. I understand that you will be fighting Hernan Marquez in
Only then can you truly prove your worth, your greatness. Fight the best, beat the best, be one of the best. This is how you make legends. This is how you become The Man.
You have the talent and the right attitude, Mr. Donaire, to become one of the best of this upcoming generation of fighters. You even have the looks and the charisma to be one of boxing’s new leading men. Now, it’s time for you make a serious push toward greatness. Fight the best, beat the best, be one of the best.
So now the only question is, are you up to the task, Mr. Donaire?
No comments:
Post a Comment