Montiel, Donaire dominate

Fernando Montiel knew he needed to perform better than his previous fight if he wanted to remain the WBO bantamweight champion.

Nonito Donaire didn't have to worry about how he performed to keep his WBA super flyweight title. But he still wanted to look impressive after a six-month layoff.

With seven-time world champion Manny Pacquiao looking on from ringside, both fighters accomplished their goals Saturday at the Las Vegas Hilton. Montiel took care of his business against Ciso Morales with a first-round knockout, and Donaire easily dispatched Manuel Vargas with a third-round KO in the main event of Top Rank's Latin Fury-Pinoy Power card.

For Montiel (40-2-2), it was important to look good. His last fight, against Alejandro Valdez on Sept. 12, ended in a third-round technical draw, a fight many observers thought he had lost. He showed he had put that behind him, as he countered off Morales' jab, and when he saw an opening, he went to the body, landing a crisp right, followed by a big left hand to Morales' solar plexus.

Morales crumpled to the canvas in a heap, and as referee Robert Byrd counted, it was apparent Morales (14-1) wasn't going to get up.

After 2:06, it was over.

"I knew I hurt him, but I didn't know if he was going to get back up," Montiel said through an interpreter. "I knew I had to get inside because he was throwing the jab. I waited until he dropped his hands, and then I took advantage of my opportunity."

Montiel said the victory allows him to move forward.

"I wanted to erase the memory of the last fight," he said. "I felt like I needed to look good tonight, and I did."

Donaire was scheduled to defend his belt against Gerson Guerrero. But when the Nevada Athletic Commission didn't clear Guerrero to fight because he flunked an eye exam Wednesday as part of his prefight physical, Vargas replaced him.

But Vargas, a former 105-pound champion, wasn't a ranked contender in the super flyweight division, and Donaire's title was not at stake.

With his belt not at risk, Donaire (23-1) fought loose and confident. He appeared to have every advantage over his opponent, and though Vargas (26-5-1) tried, he couldn't hurt Donaire.

A huge left hook midway through the third round sent Vargas down, and referee Joe Cortez counted out the Mexican challenger at 1:33.

"It didn't matter who I was fighting," Donaire said. "I was able to figure (Vargas) out early, and I knew in the first round I was feeling my power.

"At that point, it was just a matter of relaxing and not being careless."

One other title was on the line -- the WBO interim bantamweight belt -- and it was captured by Eric Morel, who defeated Gerry Penalosa by split decision.

Judge Paul Smith had Morel ahead 115-112, and Dick Houck had it for Penalosa, 115-113. Jerry Roth broke the deadlock, giving it to Morel, 116-112.

Penalosa (54-8-2) suffered two cuts in the sixth round: one over his left eye, the other on his forehead, both the result of head butts. Referee Russell Mora twice stopped the action to have the ringside physician examine Penalosa.

Penalosa continued, fought bravely and was able to finish the bout. But in the end, he couldn't convince the judges he had done enough to win.

Montiel said he didn't know if he and Morel would meet. He seemed to be more focused on a big-money fight with Donaire in the fall.

"Sure, I'd fight (Donaire)," Montiel said. "If he even wants to do it at a catch weight between 115 and 119, that's fine with me."

Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said he hopes to pit Donaire and Montiel on May 8 in Aqua Caliente, Mexico, as part of a card that welterweight Antonio Margarito would headline.

On the undercard, Las Vegas super featherweight Diego Magdaleno improved to 14-0 with an eight-round unanimous decision over Floriano Pagliara. Middleweight Matt Korobov and super lightweight Jose Benavidez needed far less time to finish off their opponents, as both scored first-round technical knockouts. Korobov (10-0) stopped Lamar Harris 1:05 into their fight, and Benavidez needed 67 seconds to improve to 2-0 in beating John Vega.

Contact reporter Stevev Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.