15rounds.com recently caught up with the “Filipino Flash” Nonito Donaire Jr. as readies himself for his upcoming world title challenge this Saturday against reigning IBF and IBO Flyweight Champion Vic Darchinyan. Donaire, 17-1 (10KOs), discusses his preparation and plans for July 7.
How are you feeling just days away from the biggest fight of your career? ND: I feel good, I’m ready. My mind is set for this fight. I have been training really hard. I had really good sparing. For all my other fights, I’ve just had my brother, and we don’t go all out. For this fight I was able to go to Wild Card and do a lot of things…use my power, use my speed. A lot of people were impressed. Even Bobby Chacon called me the next [Manny] Pacquiao, and coming from Bobby Chacon that means a lot, and it’s a big statement. I’m just ready for this fight. This is the first time I’ve trained so hard. Before I have always had injuries coming into fights or this and that. That’s why a lot of guys survived, because I was out of shape or I had injuries. For this fight I’m good. My mind is focused and I have never trained so hard as I have now.
Has it been difficult getting down to 112, since you have been fighting at 115 for so long?
ND: Actually, three pounds, when you are really focused, three pounds doesn’t matter. I have been training, and I have gotten down to that weight with training. When you really do work hard and you are focused on what you want, and I want this belt, the weight doesn’t matter.
Several of Darchinyan’s opponents, such as Jose Victor Burgos and your brother Glenn, have been guys who fought primarily at smaller weights coming up. In this fight, you have been fighting primarily at a higher weight, and you are coming down. Do you see that as an advantage for you?
ND: I think it is an advantage. I fought bigger guys than he did, and he’s a smaller guy. One punch can make a difference in the smaller weight classes. When I fought at 118, even then, I was dropping guys with one punch. Now that it’s at 112, it’s gonna be interesting, I’m gonna be smiling when I hit him good.
Does his most recent bout with Burgos, where Burgos was put into a medically induced coma during intensive care because of a blood clot on his brain, play on your mind at all?
ND: Oh hell no. The guy was a tough guy, they should have stopped it because he was getting hit in the back of the head all of the time – I could have killed him, if it was me, and he was that tough and I would have hit him and hit him and hit him, I would have killed him. With him he was lucky that he fought Darchinyan so went into a coma. Instead if it were me fighting him, he would be dead.
Of course, since your brother Glenn lost a technical decision last year to Darchinyan, the natural angle leading into this bout is that you are out to avenge your brother’s loss. It is an angle that Darchinyan has seemed to play into himself, since he believes that fight should have been ruled a knockout, it seems that he is looking to avenge winning a decision as opposed to getting the KO. Is there really anything added to this fight, incentive wise, because of your brother’s fight?
ND: Me and my brother, we are a lot different. Our styles are different. With Darchinyan, he is just being a punk, that’s all. He thinks that anybody that walks in front of him, he can take out. He even says that he can take out [Rafael] Marquez, [Israel] Vazquez, Manny Pacquiao…come on man. Just take a reality check, Vazquez knocked you out in sparring. Like I said, me and my brother are a lot different. If he thinks I’m gonna fight the way my brother fought, than he’s going down. Even if he thinks that I will fight different, and that I am stronger, he’s still going down.
Who have you been sparing with in preparation for this bout?
ND: I’ve been sparing with Diosdado Gabi at the Wild Card. I’ve been sparing with a lot of fighters that are left handed, a guy Ed Vargas and a few bigger guys. If he thinks he has been sparing with bigger guys, I’ve been sparing with much bigger guys. I’m ready for it, because I have been sparing with the best. I know how he fights, I’ve seen his fights and my mind is set for a left handed fighter.
Does the sparring with Gabi, since Gabi fought Darchinyan before, does that help you? Also you have your brother of course, who has fought him, and can probably give you some insights. Do those things help you going into the fight?
ND: They have given me a lot of tips of how to beat this guy. Just fighting left-handers, and getting used to a lefty was more important than anything. Especially with the different left-handers I was sparring with, I had to change my style every time. So whatever he comes up with, I can change my style to benefit me and beat him.
You got some work at the Wild Card Gym recently, and Darchinyan was also training in the Los Angeles area at the time, did your camp hear anything about what was going on in his?
ND: Well I didn’t have anybody to go over there, but I know when I was sparring, they had a bunch of his guys come to Wild Card to check me out, which is pathetic. If you are a real champion, come on man, you don’t need to send your guys to check me out. That’s what Gabi was telling me, “Look, look there’s his guys over there checking you out”. Come on dude, bulk up, you talk so much shit then bulk up.
From some of the quotes I have read, from conference calls or other quotes that come out, it seems that he is really trying to intimidate you. It seems that a big part of his game is attempting to talk people out of their game. Is that something you recognize or think about?
ND: Actually it’s pumping me up. I don’t talk much crap, because I want to do what I want to do, I don’t want to talk about it. In my head every night, it’s already in there. He talks about it all the time and it’s a front. I can tell by the sound of his voice that it’s a front. With me, I don’t say it, I just want to do it.
In speaking with you before, you mentioned that you saw this fight like the infamous “No Mas” Duran/Leonard II fight, where Leonard was able to out box and frustrate Duran the entire fight. Is that still how you see this fight playing out?
ND: Well I can beat him like that, but I guess it’s more personal for me now. Like I said, I brought all my gears and I’m ready. I’m ready for war.
Is there anything in closing you would like to say to your fans?
ND: I just want to get this, I’m really excited. I just want to thank everybody out there who have supported me. I know a lot of the guys, even some Filipinos, don’t trust me at all. They think I’m nothing, but I don’t care what people say. I have always gotten what I wanted, when I put my mind to it. I want this one, and I know I’m gonna get it.
On Saturday, July 7th, at the Harbour Yard Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Nonito Donaire Jr. takes on Vic Darchinyan as the main supporting bout to Travis Simms’ WBA Light Middleweight title defense against Joachim Alcine. The main event and co-feature will be televised live on Showtime.
