Donaire Dominates Sidorenko in Four, Soto Edges Antillon in Classic Brawl

Andrew Fruman recaps Saturday night's Top Rank show.

An explosive performance from one of the sport’s most dynamic fighters in Nonito Donaire, followed by an epic back and forth brawl between hard-edged lightweights Humberto Soto and Urbano Antillon - it was a good night for boxing at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Soto Holds Off Brave Challenge From Antillon

A unanimous decision winner on the scorecards, Soto was pushed hard throughout twelve violent rounds by a remarkably resilient Antillon in a pulsating encounter that was arguably the most intense fight of 2010.

Fighting at a torrid pace from the opening bell, the relentless Antillon used a steady slashing attack to constantly force the action to the ropes. Over and over he plowed forward with his head down; banging hooks to the midsection in an attempt to grind down his technically superior rival, while Soto responded with the more precise work, including a number of flush counter uppercuts on the inside.

Given Soto’s success in finding the mark during many early exchanges, it was no surprise to see Antillon starting to look a little ragged by the end of the fifth round, a session that saw the Oxnard fighter docked a point by referee Ray Corona for straying low one too many times. The penalty had been a long time coming, as Antillon had already been given ample warning to keep his shots above the belt.

Perhaps sensing Soto’s comfort level growing, Antillon once again amped up the intensity during a hectic sixth round. The session started out poorly for Antillon after he was cut just on the side of his right eye after a clash of heads, an incident that while unintentional, seemed inevitable given the way he kept leaning in while on the attack.

Undaunted by the blood, Antillon came through with easily his best three minutes of the contest, raking Soto along the ropes with some hard hooks to the body as well as a number of clean shots upstairs. Soto countered in spots, including some nice combinations coming off the ropes but clearly had the worst of it and may have been slightly hurt on a couple occasions.

The underdog came out hard for the seventh, but couldn’t repeat his success of the previous round and this time it was Soto bouncing back to inflict the major damage. Soto had a few very good sequences, punctuated with some ripping right hands including a big onslaught over the last 15-20 seconds of the round that left Antillon looking shaky at the bell.

Soto fired home the cleaner shots to get the better of a relatively uneventful eighth, before a rejuvenated Antillon bounced back to force the issue once more in a bruising ninth - a round that Soto tried to steal with a sharp late rally.

There were no knockdowns, but Soto did find himself on the canvas on a few occasions, the second occurrence taking place early in the tenth after Antillon got a little too aggressive in the clinch. Referee Corona pulled both fighters together after the incident to issue a quick word, though one wonders why he saw the need to lecture both men, rather than using the moment to issue a stern warning to Antillon for his persistent fouling.

Antillon had some good moments after the action resumed, but was stung hard by a series of uppercuts and left hooks late in the round that had him backing into the ropes on unsteady legs at the bell.

With his tank apparently on empty, it appeared inevitable that Antillon would finally succumb to the pace, but the exhausted brawler somehow found the strength to muster up another charge in the eleventh. Having eaten a few shots early, he raggedly pursued Soto for much of the session before scoring along the ropes late in the round.

The twelfth saw the never-say-die Antillon forcing Soto into a box-and-move prevent style defense. He didn’t quite have the legs to force his way inside however, and Soto managed to keep his distance before finally opening up in the last few seconds of the fight.

The scores were 115-112, and 114-113 twice for Soto – the difference being the fifth round low blow deduction.

Soto was a worthy winner, and probably deserved a wider edge on the cards. He landed the sharper blows, did more damage and with the win has earned a showdown with fellow Top Rank lightweight Brandon Rios early next year.

As for Antillon, his ability to continuously bounce back was astonishing. On at least three occasions, he appeared ready for the taking only to come fighting back with renewed vigor and take the battle to his more polished foe. He will get another chance soon at a big fight, possibly against Miguel Vazquez according to Bob Arum’s post fight comments.

Donaire Brilliant in Stoppage Win Over Sidorenko

Nonito Donaire simply smashed through Wladimir Sidorenko. It was quick, devastating and bloody. Uppercuts, left hooks, overhand rights, all landed with punishing clinical precision in a four round destruction that left a mess of the durable Ukrainian bantamweight.

The speedy Donaire’s power was on display almost immediately as he staggered Sidorenko with an early counter hook, before punctuating a one sided opening session with a heavy knockdown a few moments before the bell. It was an overhand right that did the late damage, with Sidorenko possibly sustaining a little extra hurt when his leg seemed to fold up awkwardly as he crumpled backwards.

Sidorenko, his face already reddened from the pounding, was back for more in the second, gamely forging ahead into the line of fire. He managed to land the occasional right hand, but was again battered by Donaire’s two handed precision as the round came to a close.

The third saw more of the same, with Donaire picking apart Sidorenko with lightning fast leads and pin-point counters, before scoring another knockdown – this time with a counter hook.

The carnage was finally over in the fourth, with a flush right hand sending Sidorenko to his first stoppage defeat in nearly ten years of professional fighting. The punch dropped the brave former belt holder to a knee, and brought a stream of blood flowing from his nose. Referee Marcos Rosales took a quick look at the fallen fighter before wisely calling a halt to the action. The time was 1:48.

It was a highly impressive performance from the California based Filipino. Sidorenko brought a very strong resume of distance battles against some of the division’s best, but was never a match for Donaire explosive blend of speed and two-handed power.

Next up for Donaire is a long awaited dual with Top Rank's other bantamweight star Fernando Montiel.  According to Bob Arum, February 19 on HBO is the plan.

Garcia KOs Lontchi

Up and coming featherweight Mikey Garcia remained unbeaten with a fifth round stoppage of Olivier Lontchi. Garcia had the edge in each of the opening four rounds, though the fight was mostly a cautious nip and tuck affair until the Californian sent Lontchi crashing backwards with a thudding right hand early in the fifth. Lontchi was up relatively quickly, though never fully recovered before eventually being dropped again along the ropes where he remained on one knee for the full count. The time was 1:30.

Wolak Grinds Down Pinzon

In the telecast’s opening bout, Pawel Wolak bounced back from a heavy early knockdown to eventually wear down Mexican Jose Pinzon. The Polish born New Jersey fighter was dropped by a clean counter left hook early in the second, and appeared on the verge of a disastrous loss for a good minute until his legs returned to normal. Wolak had recovered enough by the following round to take the fight to Pinzon, and was in complete control when referee Jack Reiss stepped in at the 2:24 mark of round seven to save Pinzon from further punishment.

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