Donaire vs. Frampton in a crossroads fight

Four years ago, Nonito Donaire vs Carl Frampton wouldn’t be as obscure as it has turned out.

But yes it’s happening this weekend, and if you didn’t know about it, well you can’t feel too bad because frankly it’s not exactly on the casual boxing fan’s radar.

Which is a bit unfortunate as actually, this is a pretty good matchup between two excellent fighters. For this fight, Donaire will be traveling all the way to Belfast, Northern Ireland to duke it out with Frampton at the SSE Arena for the interim WBO featherweight title.

FRAMPTON. He is a punching dynamo who relies on sheer volume of to overcome and outwork opponents. He’s no knockout artist but tenacious and aggressive. His career reached its crescendo when he defeated Leo Sta Cruz for the super featherweight title in 2016 but he lost it to Sta Cruz the following year.

DONAIRE. Had Donaire (38-4, 24 KOs) faced Frampton in 2014 when he was on the comeback trail after losing to Guillermo Rigondeaux and before he lost to Nicholas Walters, this fight could probably be marshaled into a pay-per-view event in the USA.

But things happen for a reason, and Donaire’s controversial decision loss to Jessie Magdaleno in 2016 certainly contributed to the downward trajectory of his career.

PREDICTION. The outcome of this donnybrook will be impactful for either fighter.

For Frampton, a convincing victory over a future Hall of Famer would certainly look good on his resume and he can presumably then position himself into a big money fight with any of the division’s resident leviathans.

Donaire may not anymore be at the peak of his powers at age 35 but a win over a formidable fighter like Frampton ( 24-1, 14 KOs) will certainly rejuvenate his career.

Frampton will need to dictate the pace of the fight and make it as physical as it can get. Donaire is known to take breathers mid-fight and so Frampton must capitalize on these breaks and pressure Donaire into uncomfortable exchanges.

Donaire will have speed and power as his primary weapons and so he must avoid getting into nasty exchanges and dirty clinches that might make Frampton look good on the cards and sap and unduly tax his questionable stamina.

If the stars are aligned just right, I see Donaire scoring a stoppage win in the middle rounds as he catches the Irishman coming in but not before being mugged and roughed up for the first half of the fight.

If the stars are aligned just right, I see Donaire scoring a stoppage win in the middle rounds as he catches the Irishman coming in.