Montiel's Promises for a New Style Might Be the Wake-Up Call Needed

Montiel’s promises for a new style might be the wake-up call needed to kick-start 2011 There’s a new wrinkle to a line that has echoed throughout boxing for as long as gyms have been full of the familiar rhythms from a speed bag. Yeah, styles make fights. That one fits like an old glove. But styles do more than that. They create audiences, which these days are more interested in fighters willing to risk a record instead of protecting one. Fernando Montiel has figured that out. At least, it sounds as if he has. He returns to the United States for the first time in a year and to HBO for the first time since 2006 on Feb. 19 in an intriguing a bantamweight clash against Nonito Donaire at Las Vegas Mandalay Bay. About five years ago, Montiel was told he would never appear on HBO again. A split-decision loss to Jhonny Gonzalez was one thing. Another was a performance that included no compelling reason for anybody to think they’d like to see him an encore. “That fight against Gonzalez, I think, was a question of styles,’’ Montiel said during a conference call Tuesday. “We just couldn’t get together. His style and my style could never match that night. It was a difficult fight for both of us and we each wanted to show something and it wasn’t possible. “After the fight, I heard the criticism and thought I needed to do something about it. I did. I changed my style, became more aggressive. I wanted to give people a better show, a better fight. I think I have done that. My style is better and it has shown in my fights. Now I get another opportunity on HBO and I’m not going to mess it up.’’ Any change in style is problematic. It’s not as if Montiel (44-2-2, 34 KOs) or any other fighter can walk into a gym and order up a few alterations. He’s not visiting a tailor. Style is about personality, habit and instinct. All three will likely be tested by Donaire (25-1, 17 KOs), who isn’t a Filipino Congressman, yet often moves with the speed of the only one who is known in places other than the Pacific nation. A Manny Pacquiao-like punch from Donaire, who like the Congressman was born in General Santos City, could quickly force Montiel into a comfort zone full of old habits, yet forgettable to the audience he hopes to create. That won’t happen, promises the 31-year-old Mexican who is popular in his own country, yet mostly unknown in the United States. Montiel, who has held major titles at three weights – flyweight, super-fly and bantam, believes he re-fashioned himself in 2010, possibly as a dramatic finisher with four victories, all by stoppage. The key to re-opening the door to HBO was a fourth-round TKO of Hozumi Hasegawa in Tokyo last April. Montiel also seems to understand that the timing of the Donaire bout is critical. A couple of weeks after Tim Bradley’s victory over Devon Alexander in front of a few customers and thousands of empty seats at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich., fans are still yawning. Montiel-Donaire is a chance to wake them up with a bout that promoter Bob Arum says has Fight of the Year potential. “You have to fight smart, but I am here to entertain too,’’ Montiel said. “I want people to go in there and say that is a fight that they will remember for a long time. If we need to break into a war, let’s do a war if that’s what needs to be done. But it is certainly not going to be a boring fight. “For sure, I am ready to risk getting knocked down and getting back up and knocking him down and him getting back up. I want it to be a great fight so everybody can remember.” Memorable enough for a rematch, Montiel said. “Maybe, two or three,” he said. Maybe. But after the Silverdome sleeper, one would be enough..

Load more