Donaire did NOT win that fight

I know I’m a few days late and perhaps a few words too much. But I would nevertheless like to provide my insights on the recently celebrated win by my countryman, Nonito “The Flash” Donaire against Mexican fighter Fernando Montiel.

There is absolutely no doubt as to who won the match. The results were as clear as day and as incontrovertible as any Biblical Truth.

But the winner in my humble opinion is not Donaire.

Now before you condemn and stone me for my unpatriotic statement, hear me out first.

There is no doubt in my mind that Donaire is a brilliant and gifted fighter. I have not watched him fight as much as I did Pacquiao, but just by watching his fight against Montiel, anyone with an eye for truth can see that “The Flash” is a name well earned.

But I can say the same for Fernando Montiel. He is as fast, as quick and as powerful as Donaire. And looking at the pre-fight promotional videos, it seems that Montiel is the more dangerous fighter: with more devastating knockouts.

Certainly, the records would show experience favoring Montiel. He has fought almost twice as many matches and has almost twice as much wins by KO.

Any Filipino sigurista would tell you that the odds are certainly against the “Flash”.

But again, like many times in the past, appearances will prove deceiving.

In a win that has become an instant national phenomenon, The Flash destroyed Montiel with an accurate left hook to the top of the latter’s head. Montiel’s reactions after he fell to the canvass is testament to the strength of that blow. There was no fighting after that one, regardless of what the referee thought.

So did Donaire KO Montiel? Without a doubt.

But did Donaire win that fight?

Here I humbly beg to differ.

It would be the same as saying that David won against Goliath.

It would be the same as saying that the Exodus-age Hebrews won against the Giants of the Promised Land.

No, it was not Donaire that won that fight.

It was God.

It was He that brought about the conditions for victory.

Donaire threw that left hook no differently than any other that he threw in that match. He threw it with the same speed, power and determination to win. The only difference between the earlier left hooks and the one that scored the knockout was the timing.

And any athlete would tell you that while timing is everything, it is the one thing that is most elusive to attain.

You can train for it of course. But in a middle of something so fluid and unpredictable as a real-life boxing match, the right timing becomes nearly impossible to predict.

Ask Donaire if he knew, pre-fight, that that hook would be the one to end the fight.

If he knew that the fight would have ended on the second round and in that precise moment, then he would not have trained as hard as he did for that fight.

For the Day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. Not even The Son knows when that Day will arrive.

And that fight, dear family and friends, was the Day of the Lord.

He won that fight.

He deserves all the glory.

Let us honor and praise Him for granting our countryman Nonito Donaire a spectacular win against uneven odds.

All of Heaven waits with bated breath at what “The Flash” and the rest of the Philippines will do with that win.