"Welcome to the Future" - Co-Main Event

Fight: Nonito Donaire Jr. Donaire, 27-1, 18 KOs, Philippines vs. Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., 21-1-1, 18 KOs, Bayamon, Puerto Rico

Division: 12 Rds., WBO Jr. Featherweight Championship

Result: Donaire Wins by Split Decision

Detail:

Vasquez Jr. went down thanks to a left hook at the end of the ninth round. Vaquez told his corner between rounds Donaire just caught him off balance, but no matter how it happened, it hurt Vasquez and despite having turned the fight into a fairly even contest at that point, there was no coming back from that blow.

The two went toe to toe in the middle of Round 10 but neither could close the deal at that point, and both made it through the entire fight despite some exciting exchanges in the final two rounds.

Donaire won in a head-scratching split decision, with judges Levi Martinez and Don Trella scoring it 117-110 for Donaire, and Dr. Ruben Garcia scoring it 115-112 for Vasquez. What fight was Garcia watching?

Donaire displayed a bloody left hand after the fight. He said the damage took place somewhere between rounds two and four. He didn’t think it was broken, but said “There’s something wrong with it, that’s for sure.” There were conflicting reports as to the level of damage, but it seems to be minor.

Despite the win, Donaire said he wasn’t happy with his performance. “We’ll go back to the drawing board, work hard, and be thankful for everything.” This is the attitude of a champion.

Donaire now has a wide range of options including fights with Jorge Arce or Toshiaki Nishioka at 122 pounds; or going up to 126 pounds to face Yuriorkis Gamboa or Juan Manuel Lopez. Fans would love to see Donaire seriously consider a bout against Gamboa (and I’m one of them), but he might be smarter to take on Nishioka in the smaller weight class for more of a sure thing before ramping back up in weight.