The search for Manny Pacquiao’s heir is on and like many young aggressive fighters, Nonito Donaire also dreams of becoming boxing’s next big star after his kababayan.
He is one of the most skillful boxers around and I do not doubt that someday, perhaps sooner, he’ll carve his own path to stardom.
He has wonderful footwork, fast, and has powerful hands that could tear down the Berlin Wall in no time. His jaw has passed many tough tests and his demeanor exhibits the character of a natural assassin.
Put them altogether and you’ve got a perfect human death machine, a qualified cash cow that may last for a while.
But despite these superb skills, I still say Donaire is far from becoming the Pacquiao he aims to be.
How far? Quite far.
There’s nothing alike, nowhere to begin with.
Pacquiao is soft-spoken, Donaire is not. Pacquiao likes to keep his feet on the ground while Donaire, it seems, fancies the foggy view atop the Mt. Everest.
Pacquiao hangs out with his own people but Donaire, some claims, finds the tacos and burritos more appealing now over the kanin.
Donaire’s bout last February against Wilfredo Vazquez must have taught him bitter lessons about cockiness and its costs.
Vasquez, too smart to be easily intimidated and taking advantage of Donaire’s lack of defense, gave the showboating Filipino reasons to wear dark oversize glasses after the fight.
“His face is so sore he’ll be feeding from straw for weeks,” joked Vazquez during the post-fight conference.
If Donaire is serious in taking Pacquiao’s place one day, he must first familiarize himself with the word “humility.”
Against a towering and very dangerous South African foe on July 7, Jeffrey Mathebula may put Donaire’s career to an abrupt end as some experts claim.
“Mathebula is a strong and competent 122-pounder, who’s proven able to slug it out with some of the bests in that division,” Emmanuel Steward assessed.
Donaire must not only prove to the world that he can turn bigger opponents into punching bags in higher weight classes, but that he can dominate them, in proportion to his own physical gifts.
If indeed the career of Pacquiao is coming to a close, he is the most viable bet among present Filipino boxers who can represent the country in the world stage that we can all be proud of.
But he must get rid of unnecessary showmanship and bravado and put more might on his performance as a true gladiator, the ferocity that Pacquiao used that mesmerized the whole world.
Anything less would be a big disappointment.