The other day on a philboxing.com thread, I had made three different predictions for Donaire versus Narvaez. The one that came closest was ??A cocktail of Donaire being drained because of the constant weight loss, and Narvaez playing it safe and smart all throughout, with Nonito winning by UD.? While it looked like the weight drain had no bearing in this fight, the latter part of that prediction certainly rang true.
As this match has proven once again, it?s hard to look good against a fighter whose primary objective was to Not Lose. That was the case in Pacquiao?s fight against Clottey, Mosley and Barrera (in their second fight), and it was clearly evident in this fight right here.
Narvaez proved he has world-class defense. He displayed excellent ring movement, constantly stepping to his right, always keeping a calculated and measured distance between himself and Nonito. He kept a high guard every round, and knew how to lean away from Nonito?s shots. The problem was he didn?t exert much effort in his offense. In essence, it looked like he didn?t TRY to win the fight.
Most people expected another spectacular Donaire win. This was supposed to be Nonito?s coming out party. The style that Narvaez employed spoiled it.
So on to the next fighter. I hear they?re probably matching him up next with Jorge Arce. If that?s true, compared to this fight, it?ll be like night and day.
Photo by Rob Cruz.
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