Donaire, Montiel to go all out for 118-lb titles

Expect a hell of a war when two of the world’s best bantamweight fighters meet inside the ring. Filipino challenger Nonito Donaire Jr. and Mexican champion Fernando Montiel both vow to throw caution to the wind when they clash for the unified 118-pound world titles Saturday (Sunday, Manila time) at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas. Donaire predicts the fight will be over by the sixth round, while Montiel sees himself stopping the "Filipino Flash’ inside 10. Whatever happens, boxing fans are bracing for an explosive showdown pitting two of the biggest stars in boxing's lower weights. On the eve of the 12-round fight, Donaire remains a slight 2-1 favorite over Montiel, the current holder of the World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight belts. Both came in at exactly 118 pounds during Friday's official weigh-in also held at the same elegant Nevada hotel. "This is an all-or-nothing fight that no one can miss," said Donaire, holder of a 25-1 record, with 17 KOs. "I want people to go in there and say that is a fight that they will remember for a long time," Montiel (44-2, 34 KOs) boasted. "If we need to break into a war, let’s do a war if that’s what needs to be done. But it is certainly not going to be a boring fight." Montiel, 31, is the more experienced of the two, having won world titles in three different weight classes (flyweight, super-flyweight, and bantamweight) in a career that has spanned 15 years. But Donaire, 28, is taller by two inches (5-foot-6) and enjoys the same advantage in reach (68), not to mention being a former flyweight title holder himself when he defied the odds four years ago with a stunning fifth round demolition of the cocky Vic Darchinyan. The man dubbed "Filipino Flash" is undefeated in a 10-year span featuring a 24-bout winning streak. And his last 10 victories have come by way of knockout. "The great fighters perform their best in their biggest, toughest fights," said Donaire, a native of Talibon, Bohol, but now based in California. "That's what I want to do. That's the kind of guy I want to be remembered as, as a guy who came up big when the stakes were highest and it mattered the most." And he vows to do exactly that against Montiel, the proud Mexican from Los Mochis, Sinaloa. "If I make a mistake, I know what could happen. But if he makes a mistake, it’s over," said Donaire, who scored a sensational fourth round kayo of former Olympic bronze medalist and world bantamweight champion Wladimir Sidorenko in his last fight two months ago. Montiel has other things in mind for this fight of such magnitude. "I have accomplished more and I will continue to do more, but I want this fight to cement my legacy," said the champion, a second round knockout winner over Jovanny Soto last December. Montiel is now being hailed as one among the greatest boxing champions Mexico has produced. Currently, he's only the fourth Mexican to win world titles in three different weight divisions, after the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez and the greats Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera. He has been undefeated since 2006 and won eight of his last 10 fights by stoppage. All eight, incidentally, were world title bouts. "I have plans to make this a great fight and if he doesn't fight, I will make him fight," said Montiel. – JVP, KY, GMA News