Quijano: Kambosos, Donaire’s old man power

Looks like we have a lot to go by in the next few days, boxing fans.Today, Australian George Kambosos (20-0, 10 KOs) faces off against Devin Haney (27-0, 15 KOs) for all the marbles in the lightweight division. And serving as the main undercard bout, Pinoy Aston Palicte (28-4, 23 KOs) dukes it out with Jason Moloney (23-2, 18 KOs) also of Australia.And if that’s not enough, this Tuesday, Nonito Donaire squares off again with Naoya Inoue in a much-awaited sequel to their war in 2019.KAMBOSOS. Truth be told, the jury is still out on Kambosos. Though he is undefeated, he was largely unheard of prior to his upset victory over the formidable Teofimo Lopez.Not that he’s not any good though. This kid parades combinations punching behind lightning-fast hands and a busy work rate.True, styles make fights and it could be that Lopez overlooked him or maybe Kambosos‘ style was a perfect foil for Lopez’s aggression and power-punching.But this Last Rounder has seen enough to say Kambosos is a very good fighter and his success will largely depend on how well he prepares for every opponent and how he adjusts mid-fight.Haney is a totally different animal from Lopez though. He is a ring technician, who patiently waits and pounces on mistakes his opponent commits.This will be a chess match played out on a boxing ring, but I am leaning toward a decision victory in favor of Kambosos, the hometown hero.OLD MAN POWER. Nonito (42-6, 28 KOs) is still quite an excellent fighter at 39, and since their first encounter he has defeated two opponents via the abbreviated route.For his part, Inoue has knocked out all three opponents since then, so there’s no slowing down on the part of “The Monster.” I don’t think “The Filipino Flash” can fight any better than he did the first time around, but what a display of power and boxing skill that was. He broke Inoue’s eye socket prompting the latter to label Donaire as his toughest opponent ever.That means that that version of Donaire two years ago was already good enough to beat Inoue. If I were his coach, I would focus solely on conditioning and stamina. Donaire suffered a knock down after an Inoue left hook to the body in the 11th, which slowed him down and prevented him from finishing strong.Donaire already has that old man power which comes from a place of experience and familiarity. All he needs now is a pair of fresh legs to carry that power deep into a fight.VERBATIM. “Just thinking back to the injury, it’s bringing back shivers.” – Naoya Inoue (www.boxingscene.com)LAST ROUND. It’s on dear friend, Maristela Castellano Ostrea, who recently celebrated her birthday. Cheers, Stel!