Recently, I had a chance to talk to one of the Philippines’ most respected trainer, Nonito Donaire Sr. He is currently training Ana Julaton for her fight later this month against Lisa Brown and is very confident that his star pupil will pull out a victory.
Ana Julaton is no doubt one of the best Filipino fighters in the sport as proven by her remarkable accomplishments. She’s already has in possesion two title belts with a potential third if she beat’s Brown. With a win, she will further cement her legacy in the sport and should become the lineal champion at 122 lbs. A remarkable feat considering her limited experience and the fact that she has only 8 fights under her belt.
Read the transcript (translated in English) and video of the interview below:
OS: How is Ana’s training?
ND: Good. Her training right now is going well.
OS: When you consider how well Ana is training, what is your prediction on her fight with Lisa Brown?
ND: All I know is that we will win this fight because we know Lisa Brown since she’s an experienced fighter. So we’ll see, but all I know is that we’re are 100% ready for this fight. We will give a good fight.
OS: How has Ana improved from the first time you saw her compared to know?
ND: There’s a big difference. I feel like she’s improved 10 times more compared to before. Before, I didn’t feel her punches, but now my muscle aches when she puts everything in her punches.
OS: Did she already have the technical skills when you first saw her?
ND: No, she fought like a girl. I really do develop her strength and footwork. I’m glad that she’s already gotten some knowledge despite the fact that we’ve only been together for a short time. She really listens to me.
OS: What’s the difference between Ana and the other boxers that you have trained in regards to such things as work ethic?
ND: I wished that all the boxers that I had trained had her character. She’s a woman, but I don’t take that into consideration when I train her. I treat her as any other fighter. Instead of a 2 minute workout, I make it 3 minutes with 30 second rest. Other male boxers that I trained, they complain and tell me that it’s not a workout anymore but punishment. So far with Ana, I haven’t heard any complaints. It was only yesterday that I heard her say. “I’m collapsing coach.” I gave everything in this training camp because I want her to be prepared when the fight comes.
OS: What do you think of the fact that Ana is already a two time champion despite having only 9 fights under her belt and can be a third time champion?
ND: What happened was her past opponents underestimated her because of her limited experience. But seeing her improvement, I’m not nervous or have no doubt, I’m so excited and it doesn’t matter if we slug it out with Lisa Brown because I know her (Ana) power.
OS: What are the things that many young Pinoy boxers can learn from Ana to reach her level of success?
ND: Discipline. She’s very disciplined. Her fight is at 122 lbs. and she’s already around 122-125 lbs. There still a long way to go before the fight, but she’s already there and at peak (condition). She’s not going to have a difficult time making weight.
OD: After this fight, is Ana going to move up in weight?
