Nonito Donaire is almost serene as his father wraps his hands ahead of a workout at the Top Rank Gym in Las Vegas.
They cherish these little moments now after so much bad blood ended not only their partnership as trainer and fighter, but completely eroded their personal relationship.
But Nonito?s wife, Rachel, brought the pair together and helped repair the relationship, and Nonito Donaire Sr. is now back in his son?s corner. It hasn?t been an easy road back in the ring, though. They reunited following Donaire?s lopsided decision defeat to Guillermo Rigondeaux, but struggled in the first bout, a rematch win over Vic Darchinyan in which The Filipino Flash was really sick.
Two fights later, Donaire was brutally knocked out by Nicholas Walters, and many questioned whether he would ever return to form. Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank, isn?t one of those people. He recently signed Donaire to a contract extension, and the 33-year-old will seek to regain the WBO junior featherweight title Friday in Puerto Rico on truTV when he faces Cesar Juarez.
MORE: Chris Arreola gets serious for a last run at elusive heavyweight title
?He was so filled with his own celebrity, with the 1700 bodyguards and all of that (expletive), and he really came into these fights not prepared,? Arum said. ?That?s not to say that he was a cinch to beat Rigondeaux or Walters, but it wasn?t the best Nonito Donaire, and we think he?s learned his lesson now.
?It sounds that way, and he?s serious and he?s more mature, he has two kids now. I think he has the opportunity to really make a significant point in the second phase of his career.?
The former five-division world champion returned to 122 pounds after three fights at featherweight, scoring wins over journeymen William Prado and Anthony Settoul. Donaire says he wasn?t as dedicated as he needed to be, and was often training to lose weight and get paid. He says he would usually weigh about 145 pounds one month out from fight night, but this time, he was 132, which ?says a lot about my character and discipline.?
He ascended to the top level in the sport with his vicious punching power and elite speed, allowing him to jump in and deliver devastating attacks while absorbing little damage. He upset Darchinyan with a spectacular knockout in 2007, and only elevated his career from there. Donaire went on to recognition as the boxing writers? 2012 fighter of the year.
MORE: Omar Figueroa hopes 2016 brings world title and overdue respect
?I think part of me was held back in thinking ?I?m going to do my best,? but I was limited,? Donaire told USA TODAY Sports/Boxing Junkie in Las Vegas last month. ?I wasn?t complete, I wasn?t whole. I took everything for granted. I wasn?t happy. I became everything I wanted to be: fighter of the year, one of the best fighters pound-for-pound.
?Everybody?s raving about Nonito Donaire, but part of me wasn?t even thankful. All my belts were put in closets or on the floor somewhere. They weren?t hanging, there was no pride in what I had.?
He says the reunion with his father changed everything, but the loss to Walters really drove the point home.
Now, Donaire finds himself in unfamiliar territory. Gone are the days when he was recognized on pound-for-pound lists. Gone are the HBO main events and fanfare that followed. But Donaire is determined to get it all back, and there?s no question in his mind that he will achieve what he sets out to accomplish.
After attending a Tony Robbins seminar in October in Los Angeles, Donaire started to realize the error of his ways. He quit drinking, cleaned up his diet and began to read motivational books like Charles Dunhigg?s The Power of Habit.
?I?m immersing myself in boxing whereas before, ?oh, I got a contract, let?s start. I only got five weeks to train? Let?s do it,’? he said. ?This time I?m ready. People will see the difference in me now compared to then.
Donaire says that ?now that he has this fire, he wants to fight the best.? He hopes that after a win Friday, he can secure a rematch with Walters, Rigondeaux or even a bout with Vasyl Lomachenko, a bout Arum says he?d love to make happen next year. And there is language in his contract that if he beats Lomachenko specifically, his guaranteed purse will increase.
?I gotta prove myself that I belong on the elite level, and I?m thankful that (Top Rank is) really interested in me still,? he said. ?They see a lot of future in me. I told them in my contract ?give me your best guy and let me prove myself.’?
