HOUSTON ? Nonito Donaire will attempt to clear a major roadblock Saturday night in the hopes of setting the stage for a slam-bang 2013.
Two days before he takes Mexican veteran Jorge Arce by the horns, Donaire spoke with Filipino scribes on Thursday, assuring them that despite the seeming lack of time to prepare for their World Boxing Organization super-bantamweight title fight at the Toyota Center, he made a guarantee that he will be armed to the teeth and ready to rumble.
“I was kind of worried at first because I started training second week of November,” admitted Donaire after joining his wife Rachel on a shopping trip to The Galleria.
But because Donaire had just fought ? stopping Toshia Nishioka of Japan ? only last Oct. 13, he quickly got his fighting form just days after reporting for training camp in San Carlos, California.
“I sparred a few days after I started training and sparred heavily,” said the 30-year-old Donaire, considered one of the world’s top pound-for-pound fighters.
By the time Donaire headed here over the weekend, he had logged over 75 rounds of sparring and declared that he can’t wait to get his hands on the rugged Arce.
Aficionados have dismissed Arce as nothing but a sacrificial lamb.
Arce, 33, is known for his body shots, durability and huge fighting heart but has slipped the past couple of years.
Still, Arce remains a fierce competitor and is the type to pounce on a mistake and close out a fight in stunning fashion.
Donaire knows this very well.
“You never take somebody like Arce for granted,” said Donaire, who will be fighting for the fourth time this year.
But should Donaire gets past Arce with the efficiency of a hired assassin, there will be a lot to look forward to in the coming year.
This early, Donaire is being eyed to fight sometime in March on HBO, an idea that lit up his eyess because it meant that he will be right on target in getting three to four fights in 2013.
“I was told that it’ll be in March,” said Donaire, who is guaranteed a purse of $1 million, his biggest to date.
Meanwhile, President Benigno S. Aquino III wished boxing champ Donaire the best of luck.
However, noting that Donaire is young and is married to taekwondo champion Rachel Marcial-Donaire, President Aquino urged ?The Flash? to retire early and enjoy family life after he has achieved his goals in the boxing industry.
?Sana may target (I hope he has a target),? Aquino said, adding that if Donaire is already on the top, then maybe it is time to quit.
He said Donaire should not risk his life on boxing.
With Manny Pacquiao grounded for the next four months, Juan Manuel Marquez is being eyed to do an interim fight sometime in June to get him ready for a possible fifth fight with the Filipino in September.
Reports from Mexico City say that while Marquez has yet to make a decision about his next fight, a proposed ring return in June is a possibility with the Estadio Azteca, which can seat more than 100,000, and the equally-massive Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, as candidates to play host to Mexico’s current sporting toast.
Marquez is still savoring his sixth-round knockout of Pacquiao over the weekend in Las Vegas and on Friday, the 39-year-old counter-puncher will make a courtesy call to Mexican president Enrique Pe?a Nieto and present the pair of gloves that he used against Pacquiao in their epic welterweight duel at the MGM Grand. (With a report from Madel Sabater-Namit)
