Donaire eyes Arce, Nishioka next

It took 12 stupefying rounds, but Nonito Donaire whitewashed Omar Narvaez last Sunday at the WaMu Theater in New York City, scoring a monotonous shutout over an opponent who turned out to be a wallflower in the ring.

With a high guard that might have doubled as barding, Narvaez succeeded in neutralizing one of the most potent offenses in boxing, but he did so at the expense of the sport, the fans, and, perhaps, of his dignity. According to Compubox, Narvaez landed roughly six punches per round, as good an indicator as any for his lack of ambition.

After a layoff of eight months, Donaire, now 27-1, did not look particularly sharp, but a world-class pro who wants to play defense is no easy mark in the ring. It is a point of professional pride for a prizefighter to last the distance under adverse circumstances, but Narvaez seemed to have made up his mind about the outcome of this fight within minutes of signing a contract to face Donaire.

Entering the ring with a 35-0-2 record and titles in two divisions, Narvaez brought a pragmatic outlook  to his first fight in the United States and little else. To be fair, Narvaez looked like he stepped out of an episode of “Little People, Big World” compared to Donaire. When the final bell rang, Narvaez was paraded around the ring on the shoulders of one of his seconds and he absurdly basked in the jeers of the audience. The judges were no more merciful to Narvaez than the fans were, scoring the bout in favor of Donaire 120-108 across the board.

Donaire, who will be moving up to the junior featherweight division for his next fight, will probably be looking to make more noise next year.

Bob Arum has already mentioned Jorge Arce, a Top Rank fighter, and Toshiaki Nishioka as possible opponents for Donaire. Nishioka has said he would not be available until the early summer to fight Donaire, but Arum said he will call his promoter and ‘offer Nishioka a little extra money to fight in March.’” /philboxing.com