Inamin ni four-division world champion Nonito Donaire “Filipino Flash” Donaire Jr. na sobra ang laki sa kanya ng bagong undisputed WBA featherweight champion Nicholas Walters ng Jamaica na nagpatigil sa kanya isang segundo na lamang ang natitira sa 6th round ng kanilang unification bout sa Carson, California sa United States kamakalawa.
Ang pagkatalo ni Donaire ay halos katulad ng pagpapatulog ni Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez kay Pambansang Kamao Manny Pacquiao sa huling sandali ng ikaanim na round noong Disyembre 12, 2012 sa Las Vegas, Nevada kaya lumalabas na “jinx” ngayon sa mga Pinoy boxer ang 6th round.
Laking pasasalamat ni Walters kay Donaire na binigyan siya ng pagkakataon na makaharap ang dating pound-for-pound boxer.
“Thank you for the opportunity,” sabi ni Walters sa sa ibabaw ng ring sa Yahoo.Sports. “I respect you.”
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Inamin ni Walters na muntik siyang mapatulog ni Donaire sa 2nd round ng kanilang laban.
“I worked hard. This victory didn’t just come like that. Donaire is a super great boxer. Category after category, he has won,” diin ni Walters. “He caught me a few shots earlier also. I fought one of the best and it gave me the opportunity to show my talent to the world. I got a little bit confident and he caught me with a good shot. When I went to my corner, they were excited but I told them to calm down. I recuperated after that shot but I got the job done.”
Aminado si Donaire na kung naganap ang laban sa mas mababang division ay tiyak na babagsak si Walters ngunit walang epekto ang kanyang mga suntok sa dangkawang Jamaican.
“I’m sorry I fell short. I still love you guys. Hopefully you still love me,” Donaire said. “He knocked the [expletive] out of me,” sabi ni Donaire. “I’m not going to take away anything from Walters. I was at my best. I’ve never ever trained this hard. But he was so big I couldn’t move around the ring.”
Nang tanungin kung babalik siya sa super bantamweight division na naghahari si Cuban Guillermo Rigondeaux ay hind sumagot nang diretso ang Pinoy boxer.
“I gotta go back to the drawing board. I can’t compete against Walters,” dagdag ni Donaire. “We’ll look at it. We’ll decide.” (Gilbert Espeña)
