SPORTS News Walters overwhelms, stops Donaire in round 6 By Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBNnews Posted at 10/19/2014 11:28 AM | Updated as of 10/19/2014 11:28 AM MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE 1) Nonito The Filipino Flash Donaire suffered the third loss of his career in stunning fashion as he was brutally knocked out by Jamaicas Nicholas Walters with just seconds to go in the sixth round of their featherweight showdown Saturday in Carson, California (Sunday in Manila). Walters, nicknamed the Axe Man, overwhelmed Donaire with his size and punching power, and connected on a huge overhand right that landed behind the Filipinos ear with less than 10 seconds left in the sixth round. The shot sent Donaire sprawling to the canvas. He still managed to get up at nine seconds, but was on wobbly legs and the referee elected to stop the fight. I invited him to me, like fishing. You give him the bait, and he came in, Walters said of his knockout blow, which saw him evade Donaires lunging punch before landing the clubbing right hand. You see him launch a shot, and I get away from the shot, and then I caught him, he said. But I take nothing away from Nonito. Hes a great champion and a wonderful person. Walters was announced the winner via knockout at the 2:59 mark of the sixth round. The Jamaican hiked his record to 25 wins with no losses, with 21 of those victories coming by knockout. Significant punch Donaire won the first two rounds of the fight, and indeed, landed the first truly significant punch of the bout when he staggered Walters with his trademark left hook in the dying seconds of the second round. I got a little bit confident. I said I was going to overpower him, so I went a little bit too confident and he caught me with a good shot, Walters said. Boom, he caught me with a pretty good shot. But Walters also stressed that he was able to recover from Donaires blow – a punch that has knocked out other fighters – just by walking to his corner at the end of the round. He caught me very, very clean. It was a very goods hot, he has good power also, but I recuperated after that shot, and I knew I had a job to do. I just went out here and got the job done, he said. The momentum turned in Walters favor in the third round, when he knocked Donaire down with a short right upper cut as the two were fighting in close quarters. After that, Donaire tried to stay out of Walters range, but the Jamaican was able to force the Filipino Flash to fight his preferred style. No excuses for Donaire Donaire made no excuses after the fight and repeatedly said that he was simply overwhelmed by the younger, stronger and bigger Walters. I thought Ill be good in this weight class as Im getting older, said Donaire, who has won world titles in four different weight classes. Im not taking anything away from Walters. I was at my best. I have never trained this hard. I was away from my family. I knew exactly that kind of punch power and the person that he is inside the ring, and he came out as tough as I thought he would be, he added. The size he had over me, I couldnt move. He was just amazing. He overwhelmed me and knocked the sh*t out of me. Donaire did not directly answer a question about his future in the sport, whether he will go down another weight class or retire. Were gonna go back to the drawing board, he said. But Donaire admitted that he knows he cannot compete with guys like Walters. Hes an amazing, powerful guy. Hes just overwhelming inside the ring. No matter what I did – movements or anything – I just succumbed to his size, power, his overwhelming aura inside that ring, he said. Mutual respect Donaires record drops to 33-3. It was his second loss in his last four fights after only losing once in his first 29 boxing matches. He had previously lost to Cubas Guillermo Rigondeaux in April 2014, but rebounded with victories over Vic Darchinyan and Simpiwe Vetyeka. Compuboxs punch statistics later showed Walters dominance of the fight: he outlanded Donaire in every round of the bout. The Jamaican landed 85 of 284 punches thrown, while Donaire was 40 of 169. Walters also threw 162 jabs and landed 44, which resulted in Donaires right eye puffing up and closing by the fourth round of the contest. In contrast, Donaire threw only 59 jabs and landed four. With his victory, Walters is now the WBA Super World featherweight champion. He also becomes the first boxer to knock out Donaire, as the first two losses of The Filipino Flash came via decision. There was a mutual show of respect from both fighters after their showdown, with Walters saying he will come to Donaire for help should he need to prepare for a match against a speedy opponent. Youre one of my favorite fighters, man, Walters also told Donaire as they embraced in the middle of the ring, and profusely thanked the Filipino for giving him the opportunity to fight him. Well, youre my favorite fighter now, Donaire told Walters in response. abs-cbnnews/sports/10/19/14/walters-overwhelms-stops-donaire-round-6 MC
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 08:05:36 +0000
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