By Ian S Palmer
WBO Super Bantamweight Champion Nonito Donaire of the Philippines will be defending his title against fellow southpaw and unbeaten Jessie Magdaleno of Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, November 6th. The 12-round bout is on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao vs Jessie Vargas clash and can be seen on pay per view in North America and on BoxNation in the UK. Donaire last fought against Hungary’s Zsolt Bedak back in April and stopped him in the third round. Magdaleno’s last outing took place in February when he stopped Rey Perez in two rounds.
The 33-year-old Donaire will be climbing into the ring with a record of 37-3 along with 24 Kos while the 24-year-old Magdaleno is a perfect 23-0 with 17 Kos to his name. Donaire won the vacant title last in December of 2015 with an exciting 12-round unanimous decision against Cesar Juarez in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Donaire originally lost the WBO title by unanimous decision to Guillermo Rigondeaux in April of 2013, but it was stripped from the Cuban in October of 2015 after he failed to defend it. Donaire was also beaten in when Nicholas Walters of stopped him in the sixth round in October of 2014.
His other defeat came against Rosendo Sanchez in his second pro bout in 2001 when he lost a five-round unanimous decision. However, he’s still a five-division champion with a good record even if he isn’t getting any younger. He’s just over 5-feet-5-inches tall and has a wingspan of 68 inches. Donaire has boxed 233 rounds since turning pro in 2001 and his current knockout ratio is 60 per cent. He’s faced and beaten some of boxing’s best over the years such as Toshiaki Nishioka, Vic Darchinyan, Jorge Arce, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr, Fernando Montiel, Luis Maldonado and Raul Martinez.
Donaire needs to utilize his power and speed and make sure he lands hard enough to make Magdaleno think twice before attacking him. Donaire’s good at picking off his opponents when they move into firing range and he still has the power do some damage as he showed in his last two fights. Magdaleno has 87 rounds under his belt since 2010 and has beaten the likes of Erik Ruiz, Roberto Castaneda and Raul Hidalgo. As you may have noticed, he hasn’t faced any elite boxers as of yet, so he’ll be taking a huge step up in class against Donaire. Magdaleno is 5-feet-4-inches tall with a 66-inch reach and a 74 per cent knockout ratio.
It seems that Donaire has become reinvigorated after going through a non-motivational period a couple of years ago and has regained his passion for the sport. He still has good power, but is becoming easier to hit as he ages. The champ obviously can’t afford to let Magdaleno attack at will and needs to let his hands go whenever the smaller challenger is within distance. Magdaleno’s power can’t be underestimated and Donaire needs to make sure he doesn’t leave himself wide open for any counter shots.
Prediction…
There’s not really much to say here. Either Donaire’s time has come and gone and the younger Magdaleno is ready for primetime or Donaire will be too experienced for him. Either way, this should be a close fight with each boxer having his moments. Magdaleno realizes he can make a name for himself overnight with a win here and will be highly motivated. This is a tossup at this stage of Donaire’s career and it’s possible Magdaleno will take the title in front of his hometown fans. In fact, fighting at home could be the deciding factor here for the challenger.
