By Ronnie Nathanielsz

Vic “The Raging Bull” Darchinyan surprisingly officially weighed-in half-a-pound heavier than 2012 “Fighter of the Year” Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire who clash in an eagerly-awaited rematch in Corpus Christi, Texas on Saturday night.

There were no smiles and no handshakes  between Donaire and Darchinyan at the official weigh in. Darchinyan suffered a crushing 5th round knockout on July 7, 2007 in which Donaire grabbed the Australian’s IBF and IBO flyweight belts and gave him a beating he could never forget.

Revenge is on Darchinyan’s mind and Donaire’s trainer Robert Garcia has said because of his hate for  Nonito, Darchinyan can be dangerous.

Their face off was intense and Drachinyan said “Rigondeaux schooled him, I’m going to finish him and send him into retirement.”

Donaire who moved up in weight after his stunning loss to Guillermo Rigondeaux in New York last year had to struggle to make the 122 pound limit and decided to move up to 126. Although Darchinyan initially told the Manila Standard he wanted a catch-weight bout at 123-124 pounds he eventually agreed to the featherweight limit and came in at 125 ¾ pounds while Donaire tipped the scales at 125 ¼.

While the southpaw Darchinyan is a heavy handed fighter,  at the age of 37 his come forward style is expected to be perfect for the counter-punching Donaire whose left hook is his most deadly weapon although he has also developed a vicious uppercut.

Donaire wishes to regain his stature as a pound for pound fighter when he faces Darchinyan and has predicted the ten round non-title bout will end in a knockout. Donaire told the Manila Standard some months ago he was aiming to fight the winner of the battle for the vacant WBO featherweight title between Orlando Salido and Orlando Cruz, which Salido won.

He is hoping that an impressive win over Darchinyan will earn him a crack at Salido's title which had earlier been relinquished by Donaire's good friend Mikey Garcia who is going after the junior lightweight crown of Roman "Rocky" Martinez of Puerto Rico on the main event of a blockbuster Top Rank card.

Donaire and Garcia, the younger brother of trainer Robert Garcia, had made it clear they wouldn't fight each other with Mikey telling us in Macau that he relinquished the 126 pound title to pave the way for Nonito to hopefully win the crown.