MANILA: Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire lived up to his moniker, crushing Raul “Cobra” Martinez in just four rounds while Brian Viloria scored an emotional win knocking out Ulises Solis to snatch the IBF light flyweight crown in their title bout at the Araneta Coliseum.
Despite a painful left hand, Donaire pummeled his Mexican-American challenger from the get-go, hitting Martinez with left-right hook combinations in the first and second rounds. Donaire, who retained his IBO/IBF flyweight title, delivered the decisive killer blows in 2:42 mark of the fourth round, ending the fight on a technical knockout (TKO).
He improved his win-loss record to 21-1-0 (14 by way of knockout) while handing the erstwhile undefeated Martinez his first loss after 24 fights.
“He’s a real champion. I’m a big fan of him now,” Martinez said after the fight. He also acknowledged that he was “not invincible,” when asked about the lessons he learned from the bout with Donaire. Donaire, whose father was not able to watch him fight, said he felt a stinging pain in his left hand. “My father will always be my father and I thank him because he got me where I am today,” Donaire said during post-fight interviews.
Meanwhile, Viloria, nicknamed “The Hawaiian Punch”, knocked down Ulises Solis in the 11th round to steal the IBF light flyweight crown. Viloria was aggressive in the first two rounds but Solis recovered in later rounds, before the Fil-Am fighter opened a cut in his right eyebrow in the fifth round.
A former WBC junior flyweight king, Viloria again struggled on the sixth round as Solis briefly regained control of the fight. Both fighters exchanged punches in later rounds until a solid right hook from Viloria knocked his opponent cold towards the end of the 11th round. During post-fight interviews, Viloria, who improved his record to 25-2-0 (15 by knockout), admitted that Solis was a “tough nut to crack”. The Mexican fighter, who earlier christened himself “The Filipino Executioner”, previously defeated Filipino boxers Rodel Mayol, Bert Batawang and Nonito’s older brother, Glenn Donaire.
