Donaire: I'll give Montiel a tough match

Riding high off his four-round blowout of Wladimir Sidorenko on Saturday night (Sunday in Manila), Nonito "The Filipino Flash" Donaire Jr. says he is confident that he has the style to shut down WBO/WBC bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel. "He has difficulties with guys who box him," said the former flyweight and super flyweight interim titlist Donaire (25-1, 17 KO) of San Leandro, Calif. "He's a stationary guy who hits really hard if you're in front of him. If you can avoid his punches, you can make it happen." "I think he has a problem with guys that stick their jabs and use their length and move in and out of his punches. He's going to have a tough time with me." Donaire's manager Cameron Dunkin confirmed that the Montiel-Donaire fight will take place at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on February 19. The bout will headline the HBO-televised Boxing After Dark card. Montiel (43-2-2, 33 KO) of Los Mochis, Mexico must first get through his December 11 tune-up with Eduardo Garcia (21-5-1, 9 KO) at Terreon in Coauhuila de Zaragoza, Mexico. Garcia has not lost since 2006, when he dropped a unanimous decision to Nobuo Nashiro in Japan. "We're ready for Montiel," said Donaire's assistant trainer Roberto Garcia. "We know it's not an easy fight, but that's what Nonito has wanted for so long and here it is. Montiel is a Mexican warrior and they never back off in fights. We also have a great fighter, which makes for a great night for the fans." The 28-year-old Donaire and 31-year-old Montiel have faced two common opponents, Rafael Concepcion and Luis Maldonado. Donaire scored a seventh round TKO over Maldonado and decisioned Concepcion, while Montiel knocked both out in three rounds. Ring Magazine ranks Donaire as No. 5 on its Pound-for-Pound list, while Montiel checks in at No. 7. Regardless of who will enter the fight as the favorite, there is no denying that this is the best little fight that boxing could make. "It could be an Ali-Frazier of the bantamweights," Donaire said. "Or It could be like [Humberto] "Chiquito" Gonzalez versus [Michael] Carbajal. It could be an Ali-Frazier where you get the strong guy versus the guy who can box. There's just two different styles. There is a natural fighter and a natural boxer. Or it could be a brawl." "There's definitely a knockout coming because we're both looking for knockouts. We're both willing to do everything to win," Donaire added. – KY, JVP, GMANews.TV Ryan Songalia is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and contributes to GMANews.TV and the Filipino Reporter newspaper. He can be reached at ryan@ryansongalia.com. An archive of his work can be found at www.ryansongalia.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ryansongalia.