AS he expects several major challenges to come his way next year, Filipino world flyweight champion Nonito Donaire Jr. is appealing to his American promoter to treat him like a real champion.
But no, Donaire is not demanding royal treatment. All the General Santos City native wants from his American promoter Gary Shaw is to treat him appropriately.
Donaire is coming off a spectacular eight-round technical-knockout win over Mexican challenger Luis Maldonado Sunday morning at the Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Connecticut, USA.
Apparently, everything did not go well for Team Donaire from the time the well-bred fighter began his training camp in Cebu.
Donaire said Shaw was against their decision to train in Cebu in preparing for his first title defense.
?I got to train, that?s all I got in my head. I came to the Philippines because I needed the training and he was against that. He may be afraid of me signing up with people and stuff like that,? said Donaire in an overseas telephone conversation with Sports Radio yesterday. ?Our training camp in Cebu went really great, and I will do that again for my upcoming fights.?
No idea about challenger
Donaire said he even had no idea who his challenger would be when they arrived in the Philippines for their one-month training.
?I had a lot to lose in the Maldonado fight and I need to take each fight seriously. You can?t just give me a one-month notice for each fight,? revealed Donaire. ?It doesn?t work that way for me anymore because I got to lose weight, train hard and each fight is harder for me.?
A week before the fight, Donaire had no idea when they will leave for Connecticut as they still had to get their plane tickets from their promoter.
?We were supposed to leave on Monday but we found out that we were flying the same day that night. We had to rush everything,? said Donaire. ?Maldonado?s plane ticket was already scheduled two weeks before everything. I didn?t know when we were flying out. I didn?t know anything.?
Donaire was even disregarded when he asked Shaw about why they were not given the five rooms supposedly allotted for them based on the fight contract, they signed.
?I?m supposed to get five rooms in the contract, and when I asked Gary he told me, ?Who do you think you are, Manny Pacquiao?,?? said Donaire. ?I?ve never said or did anything to hurt his feelings.?
?Bossy in a lot of things?
Shaw also got the TV rights from local TV network Solar Sports to exclusively air the Donaire-Maldonado fight. Donaire, however, said they were never given a share of those earnings.
?With the TV rights, he was paid a lot of money and I didn?t get a cent from it. For him, he?s bossy in a lot of things. He wants what he wants, and sometimes for me, I got to do what I got to do,? added Donaire, who is trained by his father Nonito Sr.
?For us, me and my dad, we?re just too nice sometimes we tend to let people walk over. But sometimes we just have to realize that we have to be treated right because each fight gets even harder from the last,? he added.
Donaire is still open to sit down with Shaw and have a more harmonious working relationship with the loquacious American impresario.
?There?s a lot of miscommunication and it seems like he?s against us, and we have to sit down with them and put the team together in order for us to really work things out,? said Donaire. ?I?m not the type of person who picks who I fight. I let people who work with me do that. All I know is that I?m a fighter and I got to do what I got to do.?
Donaire (19-1, 12 KOs) won the International Boxing Federation and International Boxing Organization flyweight belts via a one-punch 5th-round knockout win over Aussie Vic Darchinyan in July, also in Connecticut.
Donaire is one of four current Filipino world champions that include World Boxing Organization (WBO) minimum weight ruler Donnie Nietes, IBF 105-lb holder Florante Condes and WBO bantamweight champion Gerry Penalosa.
Filipino boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao holds the World Boxing Council (WBC) International super featherweight belt, a title which is not as prestigious.
Pacquiao, however, will get his chance at a regular WBC 130-lb title as he finally agreed to battle defending champion Juan Manuel Marquez on March 15 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada.
