| 04 February 2012
The first World Championship Boxing broadcast of 2012 is finally upon us. The Alamodome in San Antonio is the setting for a doubleheader that will be capped off by Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. taking on Marco Antonio Rubio. First up, though, we'll see the Filipino Flash, Nonito Donaire, in a super bantamweight title fight against Wilfredo Vazquez Jr.
Jim Lampley and Emanuel Steward discuss the contrast between Donaire, who is a proven champion attempting to become a household name, and Chavez Jr., who has big name recognition and is still trying to prove himself at the top level. They also bring in Larry Merchant to talk about how much talent Vazquez Jr. may have inherited from his father (and trainer), who was a world champion in three different divisions.
Donaire is already on his way to the ring, sporting a metallic red robe with white lightning bolts to maintain his "Flash" motif. A short video interview shows Donaire talking about the altercation he got into with Vazquez at one of the press conferences leading up to tonight's fight. Vazquez comes out second as we go back and see some highlights of his loss to Jorge Arce.
Michael Buffer is on hand to do the official fighter introductions. Donaire is 27-1 with 18 KOs, while Vazquez is 21-1-1, also with 18 KOs. The referee tonight is Rafael Ramos.
Looks like we're all set for a scheduled 12 rounds of boxing for the vacant WBO super bantamweight belt.
Round 1
Donaire comes out testing his jab and left hook. Vazquez looks to counter with his jab. They circle while jabbing, and left hooks land both ways. Donaire's first big right hand is blocked. Nice left uppercut by Nonito. Donaire flurries, maybe landing one punch. Vazquez is trying to time him with counters. There's a right for Donaire, followed by a left which just misses. Now Donaire uses the left hook as a counter.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Donaire
Round 2
Vazquez jabs; Donaire answers and tries a right over the top. Donaire pops Vazquez with a flush right and a body shot, and Vazquez comes back at him with something of a shove. Nonito goes down, but it's a slip. There's another Donaire combo with a right upstairs and a left to the gut. That same combo is really working for him repeatedly. Despite that, it's Donaire who shows some damage by his right eye. Vazquez hasn't had much success with anything but his jab so far.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Donaire
Round 3
Donaire backs up his opponent with power shots that are barely blocked. Vazquez is moving back but doing a good job not to get trapped. Lots of dancing as both men jockey for position. A wild left hook lead smashes into Vazquez, who is holding on in the corner. Wilfredo tries to swng for the fences, and he misses and falls down. Donaire stalks a la Sergio Martinez with his hands down. He lands a body shot in the closing seconds.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Donaire
Round 4
Vazquez misses and eats a right hand. Donaire backpedals, trying to avoid a steady stream of jabs. Donaire mizes lead left hooks with jabs. He lands an uppercut and a shirt right to the body. There's a rare right hook from Vazquez. He can't afford to swing and miss, because Donaire is right on top of him every time. Double jab and right cross from the Flash. Vazquez rushes with a right and gets smacked with a left right at the bell.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Donaire
Round 5
Harold Lederman has Donaire up 40-35, giving him a 10-8 round in the third. Steward also likes what he is seeing from Nonito. The uppercut strikes again, and Donaire hops around to try to get Vazquez to open up. Wilfredo finally gets his right hand untracked before returning to his jab. Donaire is still busier, sniping with both hands. Both men connect in a brief exchange. The round peters out without fireworks, and it was much closer than the previous four.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Donaire
Round 6
Eric Raskin just Tweeted that the swelling around Donaire's eye may be bothering him now. Vazquez certainly seems a bit more confident. He gets inside but is driven back by an uppercut and a cross. Vazquez is picking off more shots, and he's coming forward more too. Donaire switches southpaw for a moment, and Vazquez has some blood near his nose. Vazquez jabs away and throws some right hands with them. Donaire has to scramble away from a big right hand.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Vazquez
Round 7
Things heat up right off the bat with both men throwing. Double jab and right hand by Donaire. Vazquez throws the counter right and scores. He ducks inside and leans on Donaire. The crowd likes it as they fight at super close range. Donaire throws a combo that includes a low body shot, and Vazquez gets a few seconds to recover. Uppercuts from both hands by Donaire. Vazquez keeps sticking him with very stiff jabs. Donaire responds with a hard left hook.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Donaire
Round 8
Robert Garcia wants more pressure from Donaire, telling him to stop giving Vazquez so many breaks. Vazquez opens up aggressively, walking through some shots to land his own. The ref warns both fighters to keep their body shots up. Vazquez lands about four jabs in a row. Donaire crashes home a right hand and a body shot. Vazquez lands with a body shot but eats a flush right hand to the head. Donaire keeps throwing the uppercut as they circle. The crowd jeers a bit as Donaire mocks Vazquez by putting both gloves on his knees.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Donaire
Round 9
Vazquez has really picked it up since the early rounds, but Donaire is stil landing the harder shots. Both boxers land, but Vazquez gets the better of it with jabs and left hooks. He just misses a huge right. Vazquez jabs and throws the right behind it. Donaire answers with a counter right. Nasty left uppercut and a left hook from Donaire, and Vazquez goes down for the first time in his pro career. He's back up and seems to have fairly steady legs. I think he was winning the round before those two shots.
Tylwalk: 10-8 Donaire
Round 10
Perhaps sensing he needs a KO to win, Vazquez quickly closes the distance. In-between rounds, he told his trainer he just got caught and is okay. He's landing some punches, and he forces Donaire back to the ropes. They try to trade uppercuts and hooks with Vazquez doing pretty well. Donaire fires a left hook and finally gets off the ropes. One-two by Vazquez and both men are bleeding. Counter left by Donaire lands clean. Nice right hand by Vazquez. Donaire lands a right-left-right combination and really closes strong. Vazquez throws a punch after the bell and gets a stern warning from the ref.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Donaire
Round 11
You get the feeling that Vazquez gave away a few rounds he could have won in this one and will regret it when he watches the tape. Give him credit for continuing to take the fight to Donaire and press the issue. Left hook by Vazquez. Donaire now turns the jabber for a moment. Uppercut and a right by Donaire. They clash heads while leaning in. Counter right by Vazquez amidst many jabs both ways. Double jab and right ahnd by Donaire, then another quick flurry. He makes Vazquez miss twice leading up to the bell.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Donaire
Round 12
Donaire throws the triple jab while dancing around. Vazquez does some chasing; Merchant says he isn't super impressed by Donaire. Steward thinks he should fight Yuriorkis Gamboa. Vazquez lands a left and gets Donaire in a headlock. Supposedly Donaire has hurt his right hand. Vazquez lands a right hand and keeps forcing Donaire back. Donaire tries to flurry with his back against the ropes. Both men land some solid shots as the fight reaches the final bell.
Tylwalk: 10-9 Vazquez
Tylwalk: 118-109 Donaire
The judges score it 115-112 Vazquez, and 117-110 Donaire twice. The winner by split decision... and new WBO super bantamweight titleholder... "The Filipino Flash" Nonito Donaire.
Speaking to Merchant, Donaire laughs off the scorecard for Vazquez and says he feels he won the majority of the rounds. He doesn't know if his hand is broken but says there is definitely something wrong with it.
Asked about his debut at super bantamweight, Donaire admits Vazquez was simply stronger and tougher than he expected. The Flash isn't too keen on moving up in weight again, suggesting that he needs to work on more things with Garcia to get to where he wants to be.
