ESPN.com reported that X-rays taken Tuesday in Los Angeles on the wounded left hand of “The Filipino Flash” Nonito Donaire returned negative and an MRI also revealed no structural damage.
Donaire (28-1, 18 KOs) bruised and bloodied his hand around the second round Saturday when he defeated erstwhile junior featherweight titlist Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. by a split decision to claim the previously vacant 122-pound WBO super bantamweight belt at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
“The Filipino Flash,” who has now emerged victorious in 27 consecutive fights since he suffered a unanimous decision loss to Rosendo Sanchez in his second professional bout in March 2001, told Dan Rafael of ESPN.com the good news.
"Everything looked good and my hand is OK," said Donaire, 29, also a past IBF and IBO world flyweight champ who recently signed a new contract with promoter Bob Arum and Top Rank. "My hand is swollen and there is damaged soft tissue, but everything is good. The doctor said I need three or four weeks to get the proper healing and then I can go."
Donaire floored Vazquez (21-2-1, 18 KOs) in the ninth round with a left uppercut followed by a thudding left hook.
Unfortunately, that combination mangled the hand of The Ring’s fourth best pound-for-pound boxer in the world.
"When I knocked him down in the ninth round, that was the end of the hand," said Donaire, a Filipino-American from the Bay Area. "I was in agony."
Donaire will likely next throw fists with Mexican standout and WBO bantamweight king Jorge Arce at 122 pounds sometime this spring.
"I'm fine with fighting Arce next. That's a fight I've been looking at," said Donaire. "Whoever it is, I will be ready. Tell me who I am fighting and I will train to the best of my ability. In three or four weeks my hand should be healed and I will be ready to go. Everything is good. My hand is OK, I got my title and I'm happy."
Roger "Pit" Perron is a venerable boxing trainer from Brockton (Mass.) who now works with Mike and Rich Cappiello at their gym, Cappiello Brothers Boxing and Training.
Perron is confident that Donaire will prove to be a lasting force in the world of prizefighting.
“Donaire has it all,” said Perron, 75, who worked with International Boxing Hall of Famer Marvelous Marvin Hagler at the Petronelli Brothers Gym. “The guy was made to be a champion.”
Jeff Lyons possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of “The Sweet Science” and he entirely agrees with Perron’s assessment.
“Nonito is a once in a generation fighter,” said Lyons, 32, a resident of South Boston. “People take him for granted because he’s so light.”
Donaire’s handlers have publicly expressed their desire for “The Filipino Flash” to enter the squared circle to scrap on four occasions in 2012.
Nonito Donaire “is a once in a generation fighter” who “will be ready” to batter however many opponents he is pitted against in the upcoming nine-months.
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