NEW YORK – Nonito Donaire shouldn’t have to apologize for winning all 12 rounds on all three scorecards Saturday in his bantamweight title defense against Omar Narvaez. After all, the capacity crowd wasn’t booing HIM.
But the 4,225 spectators (and presumably the HBO audience) were booing the fight, undoing much of the purpose of Donaire’s debut in New York, at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.
But it didn’t undo Donaire’s dynamic two-round demolition of Fernando Montiel last February, or any other spectacular victory Donaire has won.
“It happens in boxing,” said promoter Bob Arum, who can’t wait to get Donaire in against a hell-for-leather fighter like Jorge Arce as soon as possible, almost assuredly at 122 pounds.
“Now I know how Pacquiao felt against Clottey,” Donaire quipped, referring to Filipino action star Manny Pacquiao’s relatively dull 2010 victory over Joshua Clottey amid a string of spectacular showings.
This was worse than Pacquiao-Clottey. Narvaez threw only 24 punches per round, averaging six landed. “He was in survival mode,” Arum said. “He chucked it in.”
Narvaez (35-1-2, 19 knockouts) a former 112-pound champion (as is Donaire) and a former 115-pound champion, moved up to 118 for the chance to derail Donaire’s rapidly accelerating bandwagon.
But Narvaez didn’t do much to capitalize against the Bay Area resident, whose star power in his native Philippines remains vastly more intense than his image at home – or, alas, in New York.
“He didn’t come to fight,” said Donaire (27-1), who complained that Narvaez gave up after taking several power punches at the end of the third round. “I opened myself up to get hit,” Donaire said, “but as long as he was in that shell. . .” there wasn’t much the Filipino Flash could do.
On one hand, there’s the boxing adage that goes, “Win today, look good next time.”
On the other hand, Donaire was in New York primarily to look good, and he didn’t get the chance. He heard the crowd booing, and even though “I knew they weren’t booing me,” it hurt.
He got over it quickly enough that he was singing for us in the press area, and perhaps I’ll soon be singing with him at the after-party. Disappointment or not, there’s plenty to celebrate.
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