The Philippine Online Chronicles

Fil-Am boxer Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire successfully defended his WBO and WBC bantamweight titles after earning a unanimous decision victory over former junior bantamweight champion Omar Narvaez of Argentina.

In motorbike racing, Italian MotoGP racer Marco Simoncelli sustained lethal injuries in the Malaysian Grand Prix, which resulted to his death last Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Meralco Bolts notched their biggest win in the PBA Philippine Cup so far by beating the red-hot Petron Blaze Boosters, 80-70, at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

Boxing: Donaire earns UD win over Narvaez, retains bantamweight belts

Nonito Donaire wanted his first ever appearance in the Madison Square Garden to be a big hit. After all, the 29-year old Fil-Am boxer just smashed three-division champion Fernando Montiel last February to claim the WBO and WBC bantamweight titles.

Unfortunately, Donaire, who is ranked number four in the Ring Magazine pound-for-pound rankings, faced a boxer who took a page from Joshua Clottey when he fought Manny Pacquiao almost two years ago.

Omar Narvaez, the 36-year old former champion from Argentina spent the entire night hiding behind his gloves to prevent Donaire from hitting him with a solid shot.

Though Narvaez played a defensive fight all night, Donaire still managed to take a unanimous decision victory to retain his two bantamweight titles. Donaire didn’t knock him out, but ran away with a one-sided win. The fight was so lopsided that all three judges gave 12 rounds to Donaire with scores of 120-108.

Despite the win, Donaire looked like he lost the bout because of how the fight turned out. With the fans inside the arena booing, Donaire tried to engage Narvaez, but the Argentine was already satisfied with the idea of surviving 12 rounds against one of boxing’s most talented and gifted fighters.

The win is Donaire’s 26^th in a row and what’s even more impressive is that he hasn’t lost in over nine years. Donaire also handed Narvaez his very first loss in 36 fights.

In spite of the rather uneventful outcome of the fight, Donaire will move up in weight to try to win another title in the junior featherweight division next year. Donaire is looking to fight crowd favourite Jorge Arce of Mexico and veteran champion Toshiaki Nishioka of Japan by 2012.

Bike Racing: Simoncelli dies in Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang

24-year old Marco Simoncelli died in the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang after sustaining fatal injuries during a crash in the second lap.

According to reports, Simoncelli fell off his bike and was accidentally hit by  Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi. Simoncelli spent several minutes lying on the track before paramedics responded to take him to the nearest medical facility.Edwards escaped with minor bruises while Rossi was able to bring his Ducati back to the pit stop.

Simoncelli is the first one to die in a race-related incident in eight years after Daijiro Kato of Japan was killed in the 2003 Japan Grand Prix.

Simoncelli started his career back in 2002, winning the 250 cc world title three years ago.

PBA Philippine Cup: Meralco stuns Petron, 80-70

The Meralco Bolts have been looking for someone who can give them a spark in their last few games - this finally came in the form of Fil-Am point guard Sol Mercado, who scored, passed and orchestrated for the Bolts.

Despite missing the last four games because of a knee injury, Mercado finished with 16 points, five rebounds, and four assists to help the Bolts defeat the Petron Blaze Boosters, 80-70.

Aside from Mercado, veteran big man Asi Taulava had eight points and nine rebounds while Gabby Espinas scored 14 points and hauled down 13.

Both Taulava and Espinas provided the impregnable interior defense for the Bolts.

The Bolts improved their record to 3-2, while the Boosters suffered their first loss in three games.

For the Boosters, Arwind Santos led the squad with 17 points and 13 rebounds while rookie sensation Chris Lutz added 16.

It was a defensive game all throughout as both teams struggled mightily from the field. With under two minutes remaining and the Bolts up by just five, Santos made a key block that could have swung the momentum to the Boosters’ favour.

However, the Boosters failed to score, and that’s when the Bolts took good care of the ball to ensure victory.