Here’s a hint: Bigger, stronger, longer lasting, and could be a key element in beating Gerson Guerrero Saturday night.
Attention ladies (and who are we kidding… guys too): When you watch Nonito Donaire fight on Saturday against Gerson Guerrero, you’ll find that something underneath his trunks has gotten bigger, stronger, more meaty. And yes, it’s gotten bigger.
Well, actually, it’s not just one thing. It’s two things: his legs.
Donaire, whose mentioned that the first thing to go in prior fights was his legs, says in this fight he’s incorporated tae kwon do exercises into his routine.
“Before the Darchinyan fight,” said the interim super flyweight champion, “I had problems with my legs. So we started incorporating the tae kwon do moves in.”
He says he never even touched tae kwon do until he met his wife, Rachel, a former tae kwon do champion herself. “When I met her, you know, on break time we would kick around, and I sparred a little bit, but nothing serious,” Donaire said. “But then I started doing some of her routine, and my legs would hurt and burn, my thighs would burn, and I thought, ‘Well, I know I’m in shape, I mean, I’m a champion!'”
“Well, of course it did,” piped in his wife, Rachel. “He had skinny little chicken legs!” Rachel Donaire, nee Marcial, has been training in tae kwon do since the age of 8. “My dad wanted a boy,” she quipped. “The first toy I remember getting was a Smurfs punching bag, the kind that goes down and bobs back up.” She said the key to adding the tae kwon do to the routine was to strengthen the legs and add plyometrics, exercises meant to work the twitch fibers that cause speed bursts, into his routine.
“Look at Ali then, or Pacquiao now. They all have good legs to carry their bodies.” She said of Donaire’s routine, “We didn’t take anything away or change anything from what his trainers were having him do. We just focused on the muscles getting ignored.” And when the routines come from a women’s tae kwon do and kickboxing champion, rest assured they’re not a gentle hi-ya.
For someone already renown for his speed in the ring, Donaire believes the tae kwon do and plyometrics has helped. “I kick sometimes, but it’s mainly an improvised workout.” Strength trainer Michael Basil has also seen the improvement, and improvised the routines into daily training. “I notice my speed bursts are bigger and faster. I feel great.”
“I’ve seen Rachel fight, and her scores come from her legs,” said Donaire. “In boxing, it’s a similar pattern. It uses the same fundamentals and same movements.”
