Nonito Donaire vs. Jeffrey Mathebula - Saturday night fight thread

[Mars_ax]

Pavlik on the undercard vs Will Rosinsky as well as Vanes Martirosyan vs. Ryan Davis (if HBO shows it), this should be a decent night of boxing for us fans. The action starts @10:00 PM ET here in the States, or around 2:00 AM in the UK.

July 7
At Carson, Calif. (HBO): Nonito Donaire vs. Jeffrey Mathebula, 12 rounds, WBO/IBF junior featherweight unification; Kelly Pavlik vs. Will Rosinsky, 10 rounds, super middleweights; Vanes Martirosyan vs. Ryan Davis, 10 rounds, junior middleweights.

Mathebula is a 33 year old South African who's won a title or 2 and currently holds the IBF junior featherweight strap. Not many KO's in Mathebula's 31 fights, he's won 26 (KO 14) + lost 3 (KO 1) + drawn 2. I figure Nonito will hand this dude his ass within about 6 rounds.

cheers

[Mars_ax]

Bump - no interest in these fights tomorrow night?



HBO: Boxing: Nonito Donaire vs Jeffrey Mathebula: Fight Overview

[shza]

I will definitely be watching. The Donaire fight is somewhat intriguing just because Mathebula is so tall. And he's apparently pretty good, though not on Nonito's level.

If Pavlik is even back to 75%, that fight should be a wipeout. He should be fighting someone like Arthur Abraham instead.

The Martirosyan fight will not be shown on HBO. I would have liked to see Vanes fight again, especially so soon after seeing Lara (since that's the fight that should get made), but from what I hear, Ryan Davis is a washed-up bum anyway.

These are all more-or-less stay-busy/record-padding fights. I guess Nonito gets a paper title out of it and the first-time experience of fighting someone taller than he is. And in recent interviews, he's said Rigondeaux or Mares will be next. (I'm hoping for Rigondeaux or Nishioka; Mares is seriously overrated IMO).

[TheMacMagician]

Always excited to see Donaire back in there. will be the first fight I DL sunday mornin. After being made to work hard against Vasquez Jnr, I'd say Mathebula will be a tough nights work too. Good fight.

Not fussed on any of the others, but as said above, would really like to see Pavlik in with Abraham, great fight if Pavlik is game.

[Rantcatrat]

I'll be watching it too. Both will be fun fights while they last. Pavlik's power hasn't translated to super middleweight. He doesn't have the thudding, game changing power that he used to. Rosinsky is better than people give him credit for. He lost to Rodriguez, but it was not a wipe out the way the judge's cards made it appear. He can be outboxed by a slick boxer, but Pavlik isn't that. I see a war for a few rounds. With Donare and Mathebula, I don't know much about the South African, other than that he has a very high voice. Boxingchannel.tv has an interview with him. Like Pavlik, I'm not convinced Donaire's game-changing power has come up in weight with him either. From boxrec, it appears Mathebula was knocked out once, but that was way back in 2003. He also fought a close fight with Celestino Caballero, losing a split decision, so, at the very least, he is decent.

Vanes. He is a guy who really needs a victory over a top ten boxer to validate his ranking. He won't fight Lara because he won't be guaranteed a fight with Canelo. He wouldn't fight Angulo because it was in Mexico. At some point, he's going to have to risk something to gain something.

[fightscorecollector]

What is the Uk fight time for this. Im covering the Brook-Jones fight for my blog then plan to get up for the Donaire fight.

Im think around 4am to catch the fight??

[BarlowBox]

Pavlik on the undercard vs Will Rosinsky as well as Vanes Martirosyan vs. Ryan Davis (if HBO shows it), this should be a decent night of boxing for us fans. The action starts @10:00 PM ET here in the States.

July 7
At Carson, Calif. (HBO): Nonito Donaire vs. Jeffrey Mathebula, 12 rounds, WBO/IBF junior featherweight unification; Kelly Pavlik vs. Will Rosinsky, 10 rounds, super middleweights; Vanes Martirosyan vs. Ryan Davis, 10 rounds, junior middleweights.

Mathebula is a 33 year old South African who's won a title or 2 and currently holds the IBF junior featherweight strap. Not many KO's in Mathebula's 31 fights, he's won 26 (KO 14) + lost 3 (KO 1) + drawn 2. I figure Nonito will hand this dude his ass within about 6 rounds.

cheers

There is nothing I've seen in Mathebula's resume or in his recent performances that says he's threat to Donaire in this bout. The only thing he has going for him is the fact that Donaire seems to either raise or lower the bar depending on the quality of opposition.

[Mars_ax]

What is the Uk fight time for this. Im covering the Brook-Jones fight for my blog then plan to get up for the Donaire fight.

Im think around 4am to catch the fight??

Collector,
I'm thinking the card starts @ 2:00 AM in the UK.
Cheers

[Mars_ax]

Pavlik on the undercard vs Will Rosinsky as well as Vanes Martirosyan vs. Ryan Davis (if HBO shows it), this should be a decent night of boxing for us fans. The action starts @10:00 PM ET here in the States.

July 7
At Carson, Calif. (HBO): Nonito Donaire vs. Jeffrey Mathebula, 12 rounds, WBO/IBF junior featherweight unification; Kelly Pavlik vs. Will Rosinsky, 10 rounds, super middleweights; Vanes Martirosyan vs. Ryan Davis, 10 rounds, junior middleweights.

Mathebula is a 33 year old South African who's won a title or 2 and currently holds the IBF junior featherweight strap. Not many KO's in Mathebula's 31 fights, he's won 26 (KO 14) + lost 3 (KO 1) + drawn 2. I figure Nonito will hand this dude his ass within about 6 rounds.

cheers

There is nothing I've seen in Mathebula's resume or in his recent performances that says he's threat to Donaire in this bout. The only thing he has going for him is the fact that Donaire seems to either raise or lower the bar depending on the quality of opposition.

Good point, and Donaire hasn't looked impressive in his last couple fights.

BTW, welcome to the forum, this will be the "fight thread" for tonight's fights if you want to join in.
cheers

[BarlowBox]

Pavlik on the undercard vs Will Rosinsky as well as Vanes Martirosyan vs. Ryan Davis (if HBO shows it), this should be a decent night of boxing for us fans. The action starts @10:00 PM ET here in the States.

July 7
At Carson, Calif. (HBO): Nonito Donaire vs. Jeffrey Mathebula, 12 rounds, WBO/IBF junior featherweight unification; Kelly Pavlik vs. Will Rosinsky, 10 rounds, super middleweights; Vanes Martirosyan vs. Ryan Davis, 10 rounds, junior middleweights.

Mathebula is a 33 year old South African who's won a title or 2 and currently holds the IBF junior featherweight strap. Not many KO's in Mathebula's 31 fights, he's won 26 (KO 14) + lost 3 (KO 1) + drawn 2. I figure Nonito will hand this dude his ass within about 6 rounds.

cheers

There is nothing I've seen in Mathebula's resume or in his recent performances that says he's threat to Donaire in this bout. The only thing he has going for him is the fact that Donaire seems to either raise or lower the bar depending on the quality of opposition.

Good point, and Donaire hasn't looked impressive in his last couple fights.

BTW, welcome to the forum, this will be the "fight thread" for tonight's fights if you want to join in.
cheers

Thank you, and I'll be here scoring the fight along with you. I was at East Side and it's such a mess nowadays. So many trolls.

[fightscorecollector]

please post your RBR scores fror this fight on here and i will add to my fightscorecollector blog (in the signature below)


Im looking forward to seeing how Donaire deals with the massive height and reach differences tonight.

[Rantcatrat]

There is nothing I've seen in Mathebula's resume or in his recent performances that says he's threat to Donaire in this bout. The only thing he has going for him is the fact that Donaire seems to either raise or lower the bar depending on the quality of opposition.

I'll provide you with a few reasons that Mathebula may be a threat to Donaire in this bout. They probably won't convince you, but hopefully, they'll add to your perspective going into the fight tonight.

Mathebula has faced good competition. Mathebula's division is a good one in South Africa and he's faced some decent boxers during his career. His loss to Caballero was rumored to be a debatable hometown decision (caveat: I haven't watched it) and Caballero is a top quality boxer, albeit inconsistent.

Style and Physical Characteristics. From what I understand, Mathebula has good upper body movement and throws an above-average number of punches. If there is one valid criticism of Donaire in his recent performances is that he has been concentrating too much on big knockout punches and less on combination punches and wearing his opponents down. If he takes his time too much in this one, he may find himself behind on points, and it has yet to be seen if he has carried his vaunted, game-changing power up with him to the junior featherweight division.

When have you seen Donaire face a significantly taller boxer? His biggest wins have come against aggressive shorter men. Mathebula is aggressive, but not in the bulldog way, and at 5'11, he is much taller than Donaire. He's also relatively athletic. Tall, athletic, those aren't qualities typically used to describe Donaire's opponents.

Cornermen: Mathebula also has a good trainer in Nick Durandt. He's probably the best trainer in South Africa. Maybe the best outside Europe, South America and the United States. Moreover, he has faced Donaire before when his fighter, Moruti Mthalene, was defeated by Donaire in 2008. I was at that fight (same night that Junior faced Vanda) and Mthalane gave a good account of himself prior to the stoppage, which if I recall correctly, was due to a cut, not a punch. The cards favored Donaire by one or two rounds at the time of the stoppage. Thus, Durandt has the experience to prepare Mathebula well for Donaire, although Robert Garcia will have done a good job with Donaire too.

Lastly, Cliff Rold, is picking Mathebula in the upset. I'm not going that far, as I see Donaire winning on points, but I don't think his opinion is beyond reason.

[BarlowBox]

No doubt, I thought Mathebula deserved the decision versus Celestino. But since then it seems he's regressed. After that fight I expected him to dominate the local competition. He hasn't. He's a long rangy guy, and that will serve him well tonight, but I can't see it being enough. I believe Donaire's left hook will be the ultimate issue for Mathebula. Mathebula has a bad habit of leaving his head high and chin out at times. His bean pole legs will be tested.

[Mars_ax]

Pavlik on the undercard vs Will Rosinsky as well as Vanes Martirosyan vs. Ryan Davis (if HBO shows it), this should be a decent night of boxing for us fans. The action starts @10:00 PM ET here in the States.

July 7
At Carson, Calif. (HBO): Nonito Donaire vs. Jeffrey Mathebula, 12 rounds, WBO/IBF junior featherweight unification; Kelly Pavlik vs. Will Rosinsky, 10 rounds, super middleweights; Vanes Martirosyan vs. Ryan Davis, 10 rounds, junior middleweights.

Mathebula is a 33 year old South African who's won a title or 2 and currently holds the IBF junior featherweight strap. Not many KO's in Mathebula's 31 fights, he's won 26 (KO 14) + lost 3 (KO 1) + drawn 2. I figure Nonito will hand this dude his ass within about 6 rounds.

cheers

There is nothing I've seen in Mathebula's resume or in his recent performances that says he's threat to Donaire in this bout. The only thing he has going for him is the fact that Donaire seems to either raise or lower the bar depending on the quality of opposition.

[B]
Good point, and Donaire hasn't looked impressive in his last couple fights.

BTW, welcome to the forum, this will be the "fight thread" for tonight's fights if you want to join in.
cheers

Thank you, and I'll be here scoring the fight along with you. I was at East Side and it's such a mess nowadays. So many trolls.

You'll like it here, Saddo and the mods run a tight ship, no troll problems.

[Mars_ax]

This card is set to start in about 20 minutes on HBO or a little after 10:00 PM ET, lets get ready to rumble.

Nonito Donaire vs. Jeffrey Mathebula, 12 rounds, WBO/IBF junior featherweight unification; Kelly Pavlik vs. Will Rosinsky, 10 rounds, super middleweights; Vanes Martirosyan vs. Ryan Davis, 10 rounds, junior middleweights.