Watch for the Hook! Donaire Destroys Montiel in Two [VIDEO]

It took Nonito Donaire only  two rounds to stake his claim as the best bantamweight in the world with a crushing 2nd round TKO over Fernando Montiel.

From round one, Donaire was overwhelmingly faster than his Mexican opponent. Donaire was composed, but loaded up every punch with power. The left hook found a home to the head and body throughout the round. Montiel’s decision to stay outside and at mid-range left him an easy target for another shot from Donaire’s arsenal, the right hook.

In round two, Montiel made good on his pre-fight promise to try to make it an inside fight. The champion jabbed his way forward, and caught Donaire with short hooks up close. But Donaire still had the marked speed advantage, and started off the round with a hard left-right hook combination. With 57 seconds remaining, Donaire turned Montiel’s aggression against him by countering him with a sweeping left hook. The shot immediately short-circuited Montiel’s brain, and he collapsed flat on his back.

Montiel flapped on the canvas like a beached fish, struggling mightily to bring equilibrium back to his body. Amazingly, he beat the count. But the Herculean effort just to get to his feet was all his body could give. Donaire easily prompted the ref stoppage by landing two more clean shots.

An elated Nonito Donaire claimed to have called the second round KO back in November, and said he waited for the perfect moment to unleash the same left counter that handed Vic Darchinyan his first loss.

“I predicted this second round knockout about three months ago,” Donaire explained to HBO’s Max Kellerman. “I wanted to see how his body was and where his head was going to be. That’s how I timed him…I knew exactly what was going to happen.”

Now holding the WBO and WBC bantamweight titles, Donaire made it clear he wants to unify before moving up.

“I think I want to be undisputed in this weight class,” he confirmed.

Donaire’s win earns him a higher Pound 4 Pound ranking, and puts him in the lead position to face the winner of Showtime’s banatamweight tournament, or  WBA champion Anselmo Moreno.

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On the undercard, Mike Jones left no doubt this time by laying a convincing beating on Jesus Soto Karass. Jones stayed on the move early and kept Karass at bay with his left jab. An accidental head butt opened a cut above Karass’ left eye in the third, which almost stopped the fight. By the middle rounds, Jones’ concerted body attack slowed Karass’ pressure and lowered his hands, leaving him open for more power punches. The 10th was especially brutal, as Jones landed many clean uppercuts and hooks to the head. Karass showed heart in surviving, and in the end sported cuts over both eyes and a completely bruised midsection. Final scorecards read 115-113, 116-112 an 117-111 all for Jones.