Palace congratulates Donaire for defeating Ukranian foe

Malacañang on Sunday congratulated Nonito “The Filipino Flash" Donaire for his rousing victory over Wladimir Sidorenko of Ukraine. Deputy presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte noted that Donaire's victory came three weeks after boxing icon Emmanuel “Manny" Pacquiao won over Antonio Margarito. “We’d like to congratulate Mr. Donaire again, for winning this bout… I think katatapos lang po (the fight has just ended), the referee stopped the fight at the fourth round. So, congratulations Mr. Donaire," a Malacañang statement quoted Valte as saying. Donaire, 27, a native of Bohol, was hailed as the new WBC Continental Bantamweight Champion after beating the former WBA champion Sidorenko via technical knockout. The referee stopped the fight with 1:48 still remaining in the fourth round of a scheduled 12-round bantamweight title match at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. "Donaire literally overpowered Sidorenko from the start putting the Ukrainian down the canvass three times with overwhelming power shots," the Palace statement said. With the win, Donaire, currently at number five in the pound for pound ratings of The Ring magazine, earned the right to challenge Mexican boxer Fernando Montiel in the 118-pound titles early next year. Montiel is the current WBO and WBC Bantamweight champion and The Ring Magazine’s number seven in the pound for pound ranking. - KBK, GMANews.TV