Nonito Donaire has established himself as one of the elite fighters in the sport. For his part, Omar Narvaez has been one of the least appreciated fighters of the past five years, running of a string of title defenses to little fanfare. Now, Donaire will be fighting at Bantamweight for the final time as he seeks new divisions to conquer. Will the tough Narvaez upset Donaire in his Bantamweight finale?
Donaire vs. Narvaez Preview
On October 22, Nonito Donaire will defend his WBC and WBO Bantamweight Titles against Omar Narvaez, the longtime flyweight champion who now has a title at Junior Bantamweight. The fight will take place at the famed Madison Square Garden in New York.
Donaire is 26-1 with 18 knockouts. One of the best fighters in world for a few years now, Donaire became elite this year when he unforgettably stopped Fernando Montiel to unify the WBC and WBO Bantamweight Titles. He has tremendous hand speed, and is one the premier punchers in the sport. He often switches between orthodox and southpaw styles during a fight, and he is effective using both styles.
His opponent is the undefeated, tough southpaw Narvaez, who hails from Argentina. He is the current WBO Junior Bantamweight Champion. He won the title in 2010. His record is 35-0 with 2 draws and 19 knockouts. He held the WBO Flyweight title from 2002-2009, in the process braking Carlos Monzon’s national record with 16 successful title defenses. He is a pressure fighter with a good chin and a good body attack. Defensively, even though Narvaez has a high guard, he is very easy to hit due to his lack of speed.
On paper, this seems to be an easy fight for Donaire. Narvaez is not a big puncher at Junior Bantamweight, and he’s moving up to fight Donaire. There is the obvious height advantage that Donaire has over all of his opponents. At 5’7″, Donaire will be four inches taller than the 5’3″ Narvaez. Narvaez’s most recent fight against a long rangy Donaire-light was against Cesar Seda, who gave Narvaez lots of problems and actually won the fight on some scorecards. If Narvaez had problems with Seda, how’s he going to do against a fighter who’s faster and has more power than Seda? Donaire has let his mind wander during previous fights, especially when he knows that he is not in danger of getting hurt. Narvaez’s best chance is if Donaire isn’t as sharp as he should be or he starts playing around too much.
Donaire vs. Narvaez Prediction
Narvaez has a good chin, but it’s hard to think he will last all 12 rounds. Simply put: The height factor is too much and Donaire is too explosive. Donaire wins by 8th round knockout. Yes, Narvaez will lose his undefeated record, but he can go back to Argentina able to say he fought on HBO and at a famous arena like Madison Square Garden. Plus, he will keep his Junior Bantamweight title. For Donaire, now it’s time for Jorge Arce and Toshiaki Nishioka.
