It’s always hard telling what is going through the mind of a fighter as their next fight nears. The training that professionals endure is full of hard work, dedication and much sacrifice and as the camp winds down you often get to see other facets of the individual come to light. Even weeks before a scheduled bout it isn’t out of question to see a boxer on edge and it’s often a crap shoot when trying to tap into their psyche.
Speaking mere days away from his February 13th clash at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, interim WBA Super Flyweight champion Nonito Donaire was reflective and passionate in several regards, speaking deeply about his boxing odyssey as well as other learning lessons he has taken in during his life. It’s obvious that the 27-year old still considers himself a work in progress in some regards and despite being one of the world’s premier fighters he is grounded in nearly every way possible.
That same modest nature with be crucial for Donaire as he goes about the next steps of his career. The past few years have been a test of Donaire’s patience in more ways than one as the bouts he has desperately desired have yet to come about. Playing the waiting game in the sport of boxing can often be the death of one’s career but Donaire seems to speak with the knowledge that there is only so much he can do about it.
In part one of this exclusive interview Donaire reflects on his upcoming fight this Saturday, which will now be against late replacement Manuel Vargas, as well as his early times in the sport and his belief that he would always be something in life. Speaking candidly and not holding anything back, Donaire’s true persona shines through.
In his own words, this is what the ‘Filipino Flash’ had to say…
His February 13th fight at the Hilton… “Training has been going really good. We’ve been training hard. We’re just trying to slow down for this fight. I think it will open up a lot of opportunities for other fights this year. There is the possibility of fighting Fernando Montiel and the possibility of fighting Vic Darchinyan. Hopefully this year will be good and these fights will come through. Sometimes guys look forward to other fights so much that they forget about the guy in front of them too much. I have to worry about who is in front of me and move on to the next guy.”
Born and raised… “I was born in Bohol, Philippines. I grew up in General Santos City where Manny Pacquiao was. Growing up was pretty tough. We weren’t rich people. We had what we had. Growing up in the province was hard. Sometimes we didn’t have toys and we had to make toys out of whatever we could. We didn’t always have shoes all of the time and sometimes we just had slippers. Even then we would use them only once in a while because we didn’t want to wear them down. There are a lot of times we would always ration out our food and since I was smallest and youngest I would get fed last. It was a hard life and think that is one thing that makes me really appreciate what I have now. Because everything I have been through makes me realize that I am blessed. To be able to eat the food that I eat to be able to take care of the people who take care of me. I’m just blessed with what I have and I hope to one day inspire other people as well.”
Getting into boxing… “My brother was boxing before I did. My dad always watched boxing and when my brother started winning trophies and everything all of the attention was on him and I realized that I wanted to do that. I started off doing it just to do it and I though my parents would be proud of me because nobody would have imagined me fighting. I was just a scrawny kid who used to get picked on and I got into boxing because of that and to make people proud of me.”
Moving to San Leandro, California… “Everything stood out. We didn’t speak English at first and it was hard for us to transition. The first thing that stands out in my head is that when we landed on the airplane we drove bay the past the city and past the Bay bridge. There were just lights everywhere and it was just beautiful. There were lights underneath me for the first time. I’m so used to looking up at the stars above me and now the stars were below me. It was kind of like that feeling that made me realize everything was different. There were paved roads, buildings and where I grew up we just had a lot trees and a lot of dirt road. It was definitely a different world for me. It was so amazing to be able to eat any food you wanted and there were all kinds of people, black people, white people, Indian people, and Mexican people. They all looked different and it was very diverse. For me it was very exciting to see all of the differences in the beginning.”
Moving ahead… “The first time I ever lost a fight was my third fight in the amateurs. That really did something to me and after that I started training really hard and I picked up that habit of just working hard to be the best and to not let anyone take me down. I learned growing up not to be bullied and that I could do pretty much anything and that was what I tried to do. Going back to the first time I lost as a professional I realized that it was bad timing. Back then most people my age were either going to work or school or trying to get money in their pocket. It was hard and it made me quit for about a year or two. I had to really decide if that was what I wanted to. I came to the realization that I wanted to do everything I could to be the best. I just want to always be able to move ahead and be the best that I can.”
A Beautiful sport… “Before I kind of stepped back from boxing and I realize that I care more about the sport now that I ever did. The sport is a beautiful sport. It’s an art and that it’s something that I take pride from, just being a fighter. Just how hard it is to train and give our lives, our souls, our sweat, and our tears, and our blood into this sport. I’ve finally found the right motivation and it’s because I love boxing. Especially from everybody else, because they help to give me so much support. During the public workout, the media workouts, everybody showed up and there was a lot of people. I’m just enjoying the sport now, the way it should be. This is the way it always should be and I realize now that it’s a beautiful sport and I love it.”
Destined to be something… “The funny thing is that when I was an amateur I felt that I could do anything. I felt that I was destined to be big. I thought that I was destined to be a world champion. Later on I felt that nothing could hold me back except for the fact that I didn’t care as much about the sport. For a while it was something that was just there until it took me a while to realize that this is what I wanted to do. What I told myself was that I was doing to give it a whole year to give it everything I had and in that same year I became a world champion and I dedicated myself and worked very hard for it. I always felt that I was going to be a world champion because when I used to spar world champions in the amateurs they would tell me ‘You’re going to be a world champion’. I’ve always felt that I couldn’t’ let anybody make up my mind for me because when you start doing that you start getting off of your path. All of my life I was always told that I was going to be something but I never really thought about it, I just did what I had to do.”
