Nonito Donaire vs. Nicholas Walters: Preview and Prediction for Title Fight
Nonito Donaire and Nicholas Walters will meet for the WBA Featherweight Championship on Saturday night at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, and both men have a lot on the line.
Donaire, a former pound-for-pound entrant, has fallen on some tough times of late. He was rocketing up the ranks before being dominated by Guillermo Rigondeaux in a unification fight, and he hasn’t looked the same since. This fight will either get him back on track or add to his problems.
Walters is an undefeated power-puncher from Jamaica who holds the “regular” version of the WBA 126-pound crown. He’s not the most polished fighter, but he can punch with the best of them. He’s looking for a star-making moment against one of the lower-weight classes' most identifiable names.
This is a proving-ground fight for both men, and this is your complete preview and prediction for Donaire vs. Walters with the WBA Featherweight Championship on the line.
Donaire vs. Walters will be shown on HBO starting at 10 pm ET/PT on Saturday, October 19.
Tale of the Tape
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| Nonito Donaire | Nicholas Walters | |
| Record | 33-2, 21 KO | 24-0, 20 KO |
| Age | 31 | 28 |
| Height | 5'5.5" | 5'7" |
| Weight | 126 (last fight) | 125.5 (last fight) |
| Reach | 68" | 73" |
| Stance | Orthodox | Orthodox |
| Hometown | Talibon, Bohol, Philippines | Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| Rounds | 208 | 109 |
| Last Fight | TD 5 Simpiwe Vetyeka (5/31/14) | KO 5 Vic Darchinyan (5/31/14) |
All stats and information per BoxRec.com.
Main Storylines
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Donaire just hasn’t looked the same since being dominated by Rigondeaux early last year.
He needed a come-from-behind knockout to seize victory from Darchinyan—a foe he had decimated a few years earlier—and got the equivalent of a gift world title with a shady technical-decision win over Simpiwe Vetyeka earlier this year.
Donaire has looked, for lack of a better word, gun-shy in the ring of late. His heart just doesn’t seem in it, and the physical tools that brought him near the top of the sport seem somewhat diminished. He has to prove in this fight that he still wants to compete and has the ability to hold off a bigger, stronger fighter on the rise.
Walters is a bomber, plain and simple.
The Axe Man sports a knockout percentage above 80 percent, but he needs to prove that he has the ability to land on and hurt a fighter of Donaire’s ilk. Even a diminished Filipino Flash is better than any fighter he’s been in the ring with thus far.
Walters has the chance to place himself on the path to stardom with a win on Saturday night, but he shouldn’t expect it to come easy.
Strengths
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Donaire has seen his stock drop faster than a boulder to the bottom of a swimming pool, and he needs to show that he can still produce the type of exciting offense that made him a star.
At his best, the Filipino Flash had tremendous hand speed and explosive power. He was able to use an opponent's aggression against them, allowing them to come forward and picking them apart once he found an opening.
Donaire isn’t going to blow you out, but he is very adept at finding and exploiting weaknesses, of which he could find a few on Saturday night.
Walters is a very methodical fighter.
He has huge power on his punches, but he isn’t just a pure slugger that wings punches in hopes of landing one big shot. He moves in and out pretty well and has underrated hand speed.
Walters is at his best when he has a foe in trouble. Once he smells blood in the water, he pounces and gets his man.
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Weaknesses
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Donaire showed a few flashes against Vetyeka in his second fight at featherweight, but the jury is very much still out on what he has left in the tank.
The biggest problem plaguing him at the moment seems to be desire. He doesn’t seem fully committed to making his living as a professional fighter anymore, and that’s been reflected by his last two in-ring appearances.
Against a guy who can punch, that could become a problem in a hurry.
Walters' big question is whether or not his power is the function of, well, power, of if he’s just feasted on a slew of subpar opponents.
The Darchinyan win settled some of that, but the awkward Armenian has always been a little chinny.
Walters is a bit crude at times, and some would argue that he’s built to be outboxed by a more gifted, slicker fighter.
Nonito Donaire Will Win If...
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Donaire needs to be conscious of Walters’ punching power.
That should be his No. 1 priority.
Donaire was at his best when he could take an aggressive fighter like Walters and turn his strengths into weaknesses. Whether or not he still has the ability to do that remains an open question.
The Filipino Flash needs to sit back, allow Walters to come forward and make him pay for his mistakes. The Jamaican can be a little unrefined at times, and that should leave openings for Donaire to execute his offense.
Donaire’s jab is a key in this fight, and he’ll need to use it to upset Walters’ rhythm, deny him the ability to set up his offense and then make him pay with the overhand right and uppercuts.
Nicholas Walters Will Win If...
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Walters is the bigger, longer and stronger fighter, and he needs to fight like it, making his power the decisive factor in the fight.
Donaire hasn’t seemed to have his heart in the game his last couple of times out, and there’s nothing better to test your opponent’s mettle than to tag him with a few heavy shots early.
Walters needs to come forward, mixing his punches upstairs and downstairs and varying his attack to prevent Donaire from zeroing in on a particular area of weakness.
If Walters can pop Donaire with a couple of good ones and then keep up the pressure, there’s a good chance—based on recent history—that the Filipino will become increasingly reluctant to let his hands go, and that will create even more openings.
And if that happens, Walters can pounce.
And the Winner Will Be...
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There are just too many questions about the late-2014 version of Donaire to feel safe picking him in this type of fight.
A couple of years ago?
Sure.
But not now.
Walters is a fighter on the upswing of his career. This is a huge step up in class for him, but he'll make the most of it by scoring a middle/late-round corner stoppage.
You can say it's a crisis of confidence, post-Rigo, or a lack of fire, but Donaire just doesn't seem to have his head in the game anymore.
Walters will attack him and force him into many uncomfortable positions early in the fight. As his attacks increase in ferocity, Donaire will become increasingly unlikely to let his hands go, and he'll begin looking for a way out of the fight.
A dominant round or two will do the trick, and Donaire's corner will pull their fighter out of the contest, handing the undefeated Jamaican the biggest win of his career and a legitimate world championship.
Prediction: Walters TKO 8 Donaire
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