The biggest boxing action often comes in the smallest packages, which is what fight fans are hoping for when unified bantamweight titleholder Fernando Montiel defends his belts against Nonito Donaire on Feb. 19 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The 118-pound world title fight, which kicks off HBO's season of "Boxing After Dark" and pits fighters on the pound-for-pound list, was formally announced Monday. "Eighteen years ago I promoted a fight with two 108-pound world champions which was one of the greatest events I ever promoted -- Michael Carbajal vs. Humberto Gonzalez at the Las Vegas Hilton," Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said. "It proved to everyone that dynamite can come in all size of packages. Montiel vs. Donaire will feature a matchup between two hard-punching bantamweights that is every bit as explosive as Carbajal-Gonzalez. It's a can't- miss fight and the fans will be assured of seeing a dynamite event." Montiel, installed as a 2-to-1 underdog by the casino, will be making his fourth title defense and is coming off a second-round knockout of Jovanny Soto in a December non-title bout designed to be his final tune-up before facing Donaire. Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=6009013
