Donaire proves he merits P4P status

Rafael's remarks: Fight after fight, Donaire has taken on quality opponents and won easily. He did it again against Nishioka, a serious opponent, in an HBO main event that wasn't nearly as exciting as the thrilling Brandon Rios-Mike Alvarado co-feature but that at least saw Donaire score two big knockdowns and his first knockout since a massive second-round knockout of the year against Fernando Montiel to win two bantamweight titles in February 2011.

For Donaire to dominate such a quality opponent the way he did tells you just how good he is, and that he is well deserving of his place in the pound-for-pound top 10. Nishioka was no joke, even though he fought a disappointing fight. He came into the bout regarded as Japan's best fighter and he had the credentials to warrant that status, in addition to inclusion on the ESPN.com top 20 pound-for-pound. He had been unbeaten for eight years and was riding a 16-fight winning streak, including seven junior featherweight title defenses before he gave up the belt because he had no interest in making a mandatory defense. He only wanted to fight Donaire, and was up for the fight.

Nishioka, 36, was also no stranger to fighting on the road, although there was a good turnout of Japanese fans among the 7,665 who packed the outdoor Home Depot Center. Nishioka had come to Las Vegas last October and outpointed former champ Rafael Marquez and had defended his title in Mexico in 2009 with a highlight-reel third-round knockout of former bantamweight and featherweight titlist Jhonny Gonzalez. But against Donaire, as Nishioka said afterward, he simply could not deal with the speed of "The Filipino Flash."

Nishioka boxed very cautiously -- he threw only eight punches in the first round, for example -- while Donaire, 29, of San Leandro, Calif., moved around, threw combinations and jabbed. Finally, in the sixth round, Donaire broke through Nishioka's high guard, landing a nice left uppercut that dropped him in the middle of the ring. The knockdown served as a wake-up call because Nishioka finally began to engage after that, probably realizing he was on his way to a loss.

There was decent action the rest of the way, but Donaire finished Nishioka in the ninth round. A crisp straight right hand to Nishioka's chin dropped him for the second time. He made it to his feet, but Donaire immediately landed a left uppercut and referee Raul Caiz Sr. stepped in to stop the fight at 1 minute, 54 seconds. Nishioka had been stopped only once before -- a fourth-round stoppage loss in his second pro fight way back in 1995. Make no mistake, this is an excellent victory for Donaire, who said he thought it was his biggest win. Coming from a guy who knocked out Montiel, flattened Vic Darchinyan with one punch and has held titles at flyweight, bantamweight and junior featherweight plus an interim belt at junior featherweight, that's saying a lot.

Top Rank and HBO have been planning a Dec. 15 card to be headlined by welterweight titlist Timothy Bradley Jr. in his first appearance since defeating Manny Pacquiao in June. However, Bradley now seems unlikely to fight. So if Donaire is ready to go -- no guarantee because he dinged up his left hand against Nishioka -- Top Rank's Bob Arum would like to match Donaire with Mexican star Jorge Arce and bring the fight to Arena Ciudad de Mexico, the new arena in Mexico City. Arce could have had the fight with Donaire instead of Nishioka but was unhappy with the money.

Whomever and whenever Donaire next fights, it's unlikely to be against either of the two most credible possible opponents, both of whom also hold titles in the division: Abner Mares, because of the demoralizing Top Rank-Golden Boy feud, and Guillermo Rigondeaux, who is with Top Rank but whom Donaire has refused to consider, claiming that the two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist doesn't warrant the fight yet.

Rafael's remarks: All too often in sports, events that are hyped as something special simply don't live up to the (usually unrealistic) expectations. And then there was this fight between Rios, a former lightweight titlist with a penchant for making exciting fights, and Alvarado, whose reputation as an action fighter has grown over the past year thanks to his tremendous battles with Breidis Prescott and Mauricio Herrera in April. In fact, Alvarado-Herrera was the leading fight of the year candidate -- until this epic battle.

From the moment Rios-Alvarado was made, there were otherworldly expectations that it would be a sensational fight that people would talk about in the same breath as classics such as Arturo Gatti-Micky Ward, Diego Corrales-Jose Luis Castillo, Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez and other special fights in recent history. How could Rios-Alvarado possibly live up to those massive expectations? Just know that it did, one brutal punch at a time.

Both fighters said they would throw down before the fight, and they honored their word, delivering a sensational slugfest. It was competitive all the way, as neither man took a backward step. Both were rocked, both were marked up and both emptied their tanks knowing that, besides the glory of victory, the winner would be a legitimate candidate to face the winner of the Dec. 8 showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez. That would translate to a multimillion-dollar payday. Neither earned that much for this collision -- Rios got $500,000 and Alvarado $250,000 -- but they earned every single penny for their much-appreciated efforts.

Most of the rounds were very closely contested, with scoring that could have gone either way. The fifth round, particularly the final minute or so, was exceptional. Alvarado, 32, of Denver, badly rocked Rios, 26, of Oxnard, Calif., with head shots only to see Rios come back with raging fury to finish the round big. Back and forth they went, and when the seventh round began, the fight was on the table; two judges had it 57-57 and the third judge favored Rios 58-56.

But Rios finally got to Alvarado, landing a really good right hand to the head that backed him up. Rios, who was moving into the junior welterweight division after missing weight for back-to-back lightweight title fights, poured it on. Alvarado's head snapped back and he was in trouble on the ropes when Rios snapped his head back again, forcing referee Pat Russell, who previously wasn't needed at all, to step in and rescue Alvarado at 1 minute, 57 seconds. Some called it a premature stoppage, but it was on the money. Russell did his job, which was to prevent Alvarado from being seriously injured. Alvarado's eyes had rolled up into his head and his head had been whipped back and forth multiple times in the closing sequence. No argument on Russell's decision.

As great of a fight as it was -- and it will be the fight of the year unless something truly special comes along in the final 2½ months of 2012 -- there can always (and should) be an eventual rematch. Maybe Rios will get the Pacquiao-Marquez winner, and even if he does, a rematch will be there after that fight. Alvarado, meanwhile, has nothing to be ashamed of. He showed that, like Rios, he is a true warrior.

Rafael's remarks: Price, 29, a bronze medalist for Great Britain in the 2008 Olympics, is one of boxing's top rising heavyweight prospects. Harrison, 40, a gold medalist for Great Britain in the 2000 Olympics, is a faded, chinless disappointment who never came close to living up to the hype. This was something of a passing of the torch from the British heavyweight hopeful of the past to the most significant British heavyweight hopeful of today.

Price, of course, was the heavy favorite in the fight, but it was still surprising to see him take out Harrison in just 82 seconds in his first defense of the British and Commonwealth belts. Price, who was a teen when he watched Harrison win his gold medal, credited Harrison's words of encouragement in a phone call before the 2008 Olympics for helping him fight his way to bronze. On Saturday, they met in the first fight between British Olympians. But it was really no match at all as the 6-foot-8, 247-pound Price, who was fighting in his hometown, cut through Harrison, a 6-5, 245-pound southpaw, with ease.

After Harrison was knocked out in the third round of a non-effort against David Haye in a world title bout in November 2010, many thought it was the end of him. But after an 18-month layoff, he returned earlier this year for a low-level victory, which set up the fight with Price. Harrison looked like he was in shape for Saturday's fight and he said all the right things leading up to it, but then the bell rang. The fighters feinted and pawed with their jabs early, and then Price rocked Harrison with a hard right hand, his best punch. That was the beginning of the end. Harrison retreated to the ropes and Price promptly began teeing off on him. In the barrage of punches that landed were two clean right hands that turned out the lights as Harrison slithered to the mat against the ropes, out cold, as referee Howard John Foster stopped it without a count.

Now, as great of a prospect as Price is, let's not get too carried away by this win. Yes, Price has a chance to be a significant factor in the division, but keep in mind that he did this to Harrison, an inactive, old fighter who has now been cleanly knocked out early in three of his losses. When Price does this to a real contender, then it can be cause for elation. Those who look at this punishing win and say that Price is ready to face one of the Klitschko brothers, who are his physical equal, are getting a little ahead of themselves. Price may well be a future heavyweight champion, but the reason to believe that isn't because he blitzed Harrison. Price is due back in the ring in December to face former world title challenger and another faded British big man: Matt Skelton. Don't be surprised if the fight ends the same way this one did.

Rafael's remarks: DeGale, 26, was a 2008 British Olympic gold medalist who was getting what he considered to be a fresh start, as this was his first fight with promoter Mick Hennessy (after a falling out with Frank Warren). It was also DeGale's chance to be seen on free British TV thanks to Hennessy's deal with Channel 5. So did DeGale impress in his chance for wide national viewership? Not all that much, although he did get the win in a tough fight -- one that was far closer than the two wide scorecards suggested.

Mohoumadi, 32, of France, who lost his second fight in a row, has a very thin résumé and, frankly, wasn't supposed to give such a tough fight to DeGale, a southpaw with excellent speed and technical ability. But DeGale, who was defending the European title for the second time, got dragged into a bit of a rough-and-tumble fight. Mohoumadi backed up DeGale throughout the bout and handed out a measure of punishment as he pushed DeGale very hard. The fight was probably the toughest DeGale has had other than his majority decision loss to rival George Groves in their much-anticipated showdown in May 2011. Although Mohoumadi rocked DeGale a few times, DeGale hurt him in the fifth round with a left hand and closed strong, including rocking Mohoumadi in the final round.

DeGale is expected back in the ring in December. He has said he wants to fight former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik, but that's highly unlikely, as Pavlik is headed toward a fight with super middleweight world champ Andre Ward early next year.

Rafael's remarks: Blue-chip prospect Pedraza, 23, was a star amateur and 2008 Puerto Rican Olympian who didn't turn pro until February 2011. Some view him as the best prospect from the boxing hotbed of Puerto Rico since Miguel Cotto turned pro after the 2000 Olympics. He was originally supposed to face Allan Benitez (7-3-1, 1 KO) on Friday, but an elbow injury sidelined Benitez, who was replaced by Philadelphia southpaw Farmer on a week's notice.

Pedraza, who spars with the likes of junior lightweight titlist Roman "Rocky" Martinez, dominated Farmer. Pedraza boxed a bit cautiously early, but in the third round he took over. He badly hurt Farmer and spent the final 90 seconds bashing Farmer all over the ring. Somehow Farmer survived. Maybe Pedraza's power isn't what some think it is.

In the eighth (and final) round, Farmer injured his left hand when he hit Pedraza on the elbow. For some unknown reason, referee Celestino Ruiz called timeout and called it an accidental head-butt. It made no difference because the fight resumed and seconds later, with Pedraza nailing Farmer, who could not throw his left, Ruiz stepped in and stopped it 47 seconds into the round. It was a dominant performance from Pedraza but probably shouldn't have lasted as long as it did.

Rafael's remarks: Cepeda and Russ, who fought in the amateurs (Cepeda won), were meeting as pros on national TV in step-up fights for both. Russ, who spars with middleweight titlist Gennady Golovkin, was in his first scheduled eight-round fight and Cepeda in only his second. Regardless of its scheduled length, the fight didn't last -- just 105 seconds to be exact.

Cepeda, 28, of Jersey City, N.J., said before the fight that he is a brawler who isn't afraid to test his chin. Well, Russ, a 25-year-old college graduate from Fayetteville, N.C., tested it and the chin failed. Cepeda, who had fought less than one full round in the previous 14 months, walked into a left hand that hurt him and then ate a right hand. He was in trouble, took a couple of more shots and then went down to his rear end from a stiff jab and a right to the top of the head. When Cepeda got up, his legs were shaky and he wobbled away from referee Mike England. When he turned to come back to England, he was still very shaky and England called off the fight. Some might say it was premature, but Cepeda wasn't responding to England's commands, his legs were in rough shape and he had a big mouse under his left eye. Nice win for Russ in his national TV debut and quite a way to avenge an amateur defeat.

Rafael's remarks: Taylor, the former undisputed middleweight champ, continued his comeback from a brain bleed suffered in a 12th-round knockout loss to Arthur Abraham in the opening stage of the Super Six World Boxing Classic in 2009. After that horrific knockout, Taylor dropped out of the tournament and stepped away from boxing for 26 months before making a comeback.

Taylor went through all sorts of medical testing, including neurological exams by the nation's top specialists, and was eventually granted a license by the Nevada State Athletic Commission -- perhaps the most rigorous commission in the country when it comes to granting licenses after medical problems. Dropping back to middleweight from super middleweight, Taylor launched the comeback in December and knocked out Jessie Nicklow in the eighth round. In his second comeback fight, Taylor, 34, of Little Rock, Ark., got knocked down hard in the ninth round and was in trouble against Caleb Truax, but he hung on to win a unanimous 10-round decision.

Munoz, 36, of Topeka, Kan., was a step down from the caliber of Taylor's previous two opponents. A much smaller man, Munoz was fodder for even the faded Taylor. He dropped Munoz twice in the opening round, first on a left-right combination and then on a left hand, and then finished him in the second round with a booming right hand that knocked Munoz clean out at 1 minute, 5 seconds.

Munoz dropped to 3-7 in his past 10 fights and now has been knocked out inside three rounds in his past three bouts. Taylor, deserving or not, is moving toward a much bigger fight. With the backing of powerful adviser Al Haymon and Showtime involved, it won't be a surprise for him to get a shot at one of the belts in 2013, and people will still cringe every time he gets hit in the head.

Rafael's remarks: It took quite some time for Stevenson to get into the ring for this eliminator, which was to determine the mandatory challenger for 168-pound titlist Carl Froch of England. First, it took seemingly forever to get somebody to face Stevenson as contender after contender passed on the fight -- until George, a fearless 27-year-old from Chicago, stepped up to the plate. The bout was also postponed twice and had its television coverage switched up, too.

When the fighters finally got to the ring, though, it was all Stevenson, a powerful 35-year-old late bloomer from Quebec. He had the hometown fans at the Bell Centre behind him as he laid a beating on George, whose big heart kept him in the fight well enough to preserve the thought that maybe he could pull out a miracle -- even though Stevenson, a southpaw, was way ahead. He dropped George five times overall en route to the punishing victory. George went down twice in the fifth round (both times on body shots), in the sixth round (another body shot, but really just sustained punishment) and twice more in the 12th round (a flurry of head shots and then exhaustion after taking lesser shots) before referee Marlon B. Wright stopped it 55 seconds into the final round, following the final knockdown.

It was a very entertaining fight despite its one-sided nature. After the knockdowns late in the fifth round, for example, George came storming back to rock Stevenson in a toe-to-toe exchange. How George took as many hard shots from Stevenson, a tremendous puncher, only George knows. The guy has a huge heart and some ability, but not enough to win at the highest level. Still, he sure made it dramatic with the effort he displayed. Stevenson now will get his title shot, and with his power, he is capable of knocking out anybody.

Rafael's remarks: Lemieux, 23, of Montreal, was one of the hottest prospects in boxing in 2009 and 2010. With his youth, charisma, growing popularity in Montreal (a great fight city) and thudding one-punch power, Lemieux looked every bit like a significant future star and champion. Then came a disastrous 2011 campaign and two mind-blowing losses. There was a shocking seventh-round knockout loss to Marco Antonio Rubio in a fight that Lemieux had thoroughly dominated until the unexpected ending, which saw him get hammered until his trainer threw in the towel. Then came a majority decision loss to faded former junior middleweight titlist Joachim Alcine, whose lack of a chin had figured to make it a short night.

Trying to right the ship, Lemieux rebounded with an easy second-round knockout of a forgettable opponent in June and was matched soft again against the overmatched Gaona, 27, of Mexico. Lemieux will feast all day long on opponents of this stature, and by doing so he'll also score some sick knockouts. Holy moley, this was one of them -- a clear knockout of the year contender.

Lemieux was his typical aggressive self when, with 40 seconds left in the first round, he landed a flush right hand to Gaona's chin. Gaona dropped immediately to his backside and came to rest against the ropes. He beat the count, but it was obvious he wasn't going to last long. As soon as the fight resumed, Lemieux landed a little right hand followed by a devastating left hook, and Gaona fell to his back as if he'd been shot. His head smashed into the canvas as he was hitting the deck, and as he came to rest, his arms were still sort of stretched out in an eerie way, similar to how Fernando Montiel landed in Nonito Donaire's 2011 knockout of the year. Referee Jean-Guy Brousseau immediately stopped the fight at 2 minutes, 48 seconds without a count. Gaona was down for several minutes, and Lemieux had yet another awesome knockout against a lesser opponent.