Nonito Donaire vs. Wladimir Sidorenko

In Harm's Way
DateDecember 4, 2010
LocationHonda Center, Anaheim, California, United States
Title(s) on the line Interim WBA World Bantamweight title

Philippines Nonito Donaire vs. Ukraine Wladimir Sidorenko
The Filipino Flash
Tale of the tape
Talibon, Bohol, Philippines From Enerhodar, Ukraine
24–1–0 (16 KO) Pre-fight record 22–2–2 (7 KO)
5 ft, 6 in Height 5 ft, 4 in
Recognition

Nonito Donaire vs. Wladimir Sidorenko Chavez and Gomez met along with their friends from Top Rank at the historic Millennium Biltmore Hotel to announce their mega fight. The bout is to be televised on pay-per-view.[1]

Build up

Middleweight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., was hoping for a showdown with the junior middleweight star, Miguel Cotto, but instead will face Alfonso Gomez in the main event of a Top Rank pay-per-view card that features several of the company's top fighters on Dec. 4 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.[2]

Alfonso Gomez had very little zip on his punches and pain in his left arm. He had a torn ligament in his left elbow. Top-10 contender Pawel Wolak will be In Harm’s Way, when he challenges Chavez, Jr. in a 12-round title fight. Wolak replaces the injured Gomez.[3]

Chavez was sick so he was taken off of the bout. The card will still be on, all the fighters are still fighting nothing has changed, but Wolak will instead face Mexican light middleweight José Pinzón.[4] The co-main event of the bout Nonito Donaire vs. Volodymyr Sydorenko, will be changed to the main event of the evening.[5]

The fight

By the time Soto and Antillon had finished a brutal, back-and-forth slugfest, it was clear they had not only waged a fight more than worthy of being a main event, they had produced the 2010 ESPN.com fight of the year.

Sure, the card had lost the star power of Chavez, but the 3,253 who decided to keep their tickets, and those who anted up for the pay-per-view, more than got their money's worth as Soto and Antillon put on a scorching fight for all 12 rounds.

Soto eked out a unanimous decision—115-112, 114-113, 114-113—to retain his 135-pound belt for the third time, but the result almost didn't matter, as both fighters raised their stock in a tremendous battle.

The blueprint for how the fight was going to go was set almost immediately, as Antillon, more brawler than boxer, went right at Soto to try to drag him into a war. Soto, the more skilled fighter, would have preferred a bit of a chess match, but Antillon set a furious pace. He was all over Soto with power punches and body shots. Soto had no choice but to stand his ground and fight back.[6]

Main card

Preliminary card

References

  1. Avila, David (2010-10-05). "Top Rank Brings Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, Alfonso Gomez To Anaheim". TheSweetScience. Retrieved 2010-10-28.
  2. Rafael, Dan (2010-09-30). "Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. gets challenger". ESPN. Retrieved 2010-10-28.
  3. Rafael, Dan (2010-11-24). "Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. Alfonso Gomez press conference highlights". FightHub. Pawel Wolak replaces Alfonso Gomez. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
  4. "The Fabulous Forum". Los Angeles Times.
  5. Pugmire, Lance (2010-12-04). "Strong card expected for Saturday's pay-per-view boxing in Anaheim". Los Angeles Times.
  6. http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/columns/story?columnist=rafael_dan&id=5971552

External links