MANILA, Philippines ? According to boxing analyst Ronnie Nathanielsz, the possible clash with WBA super bantamweight champion Scott Quigg will serve as a real test for Nonito Donaire Jr., who is aiming to complete his comeback following his harrowing defeat to Jamaica?s Nicholas Walters.
Donaire has been dislodged from the list of the world?s most elite fighters after suffering a sixth-round stoppage loss to Walters in 2014.
But the Filipino Flash came up with a pair of smashing victories against William Prado in March and Anthony Settoul over the weekend.
?It depends on the Quigg fight,? Nathanielsz said in an interview on ANC?s Hardball. ?He’s gotta win, he’s gotta win impressively. Then he will be back in the world stage.?
Donaire will have a formidable challenge if he gets the Quigg fight. The 26-year-old Briton hasn’t been beaten in 33 fights and 23 of his victories came by way of knockouts.
Height will also be a factor as the Bury, England native stands at 5-foot-8, giving him a two-inch height advantage against the 5-foot-6 Donaire.
Nathanielsz reminded Donaire that he will have to be serious with his training.
?He tends to take things a little easy. When he’s nothing feeling good, he will skip a day of training or take a day off. You can’t do that in the sport of boxing,? the analyst noted.
But Nathanliesz thinks that Donaire?s training at the ALA Gym was a step the right direction.
?He has sparred with the likes of [Mark] Magsayo and Albert Pagara. That’s going to hone his skills, he learned from them they learned from him. It was a good give and take and now he knows he got to take this path if he going to redeem his reputation,? he said.
Nathanielsz stressed that Donaire’s training for the Quigg fight must be perfect.
“[Because] if he doesn’t win or wins and doesn’t perform really well, then he’ll have a problem,” he said.
