Nonito (Dodong) Donaire Sr. said yesterday his son Nonito, Jr. was lucky to score a sixth round technical knockout win over South African challenger Moruti Mthalane and could?ve lost if last Saturday?s IBF flyweight title fight went on at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.
Donaire Sr. rated his son?s performance only a five on a scale of one to 10, adding it was his worst showing since his amateur days.
?I don?t know why he was so sluggish,? said Donaire Sr. who worked the defending champion?s corner with another son Lucky, former world junior welterweight titlist Morris East and police lieutenant Gary Cagaanon. ?He was great in the gym. He didn?t spar with very good fighters but was fast and very strong. Mthalane telegraphed his jabs and still, Jun got hit.?
Donaire Sr. said if his son fights that way against any of his three projected future opponents ? Vic Darchinyan, Jorge Arce and Fernando Montiel, he could lose.
?It was like Jun lost his focus,? said Donaire Sr who arrives here Saturday to train fighters in Cebu. ?I?m not satisfied with his showing. Of course, I?m happy he won. But Jun is capable of doing much more because he?s so talented. I just hope his head stays in place. He has to maintain his discipline. He?s on top now but he?s got to work harder to stay on top.?
Donaire Sr. said from the day his son started training for Mthalane, he never left his wife Rachel?s side.
?They were together from day one of training camp (Aug. 30) until the day of the fight,? said Donaire Sr. who trains his son. ?This was his sloppiest performance ever. After five rounds, I thought Mthalane won two and Jun, three so it was close. If Jun didn?t open that cut, he could?ve even lost.?
But Donaire proved superior. He broke the pinkie in his left hand in the second round after slamming it against Mthalane?s elbow in an attempt to bang the side of the body. Despite the pain, Donaire used the left hand from a southpaw position to cut Mthalane?s inside left eyelid in the sixth round, prompting referee Joe Cortez to call it a night.
?Jun?s left glove was a little loose and he wasn?t comfortable wearing it,? said Donaire Sr. ?That?s how he hurt his pinkie because he was hitting with his fingers, not the knuckles.?
Donaire went to a nearby hospital for doctors to check on the finger after his victory party and it will be placed in a cast today. No surgery is required.
Donaire confirmed it was a left straight that inflicted Mthalane?s gash. Switching to southpaw in the fourth round because of the pain in his left pinkie, Donaire peppered Mthalane with right jabs. When the opening came in the sixth, Donaire unleashed a vicious left straight that struck Mthalane?s left eye from a crossover angle.
It was a tribute to Donaire?s fighting skills and courage that he made the adjustment in style and fought with pain. Donaire said if Cortez didn?t stop the fight, it would?ve just been a matter of time before Mthalane fell.
On his father?s comments, Donaire said it?s natural for a trainer to want more from his fighter, especially if he?s the son. ?I hope he understands it?s different sparring in the gym and fighting the actual fight,? he added. ?I know he wants to motivate me to work harder.?
Donaire said Top Rank promoter Bob Arum and his manager Cameron Dunkin will decide whom he fights next.
?I have no preference but I want to fight the best,? he said.
Donaire confided that he would?ve fought Darchinyan instead of Mthalane but the Australian?s asking price was too high. Darchinyan?s promoter Gary Shaw recently said he wouldn?t agree to a Donaire rematch even if the Filipino begs like his little dog. Donaire knocked out Darchinyan with a single left hook to the jaw to wrest the IBF 112-pound crown last year.
Darchinyan, who was floored and held to a draw by Z Gorres last year, is now the WBA, WBC and IBF superflyweight champion. Montiel, who is being lined up for Donaire is the WBO 115-pound titlist.
Donaire?s likely next opponent is Arce, the former WBC lightflyweight champion who demolished Isidro Garcia on the same card as Donaire-Mthalane. There is talk the fight will be staged in Manila in March.
Arce, 29, is a bell-to-bell slugger with a 51-4-1 record, including 39 KOs. Among his victims were Filipinos Joma Gamboa (KO2), Carmelo Caceres (KO2) and Juanito Rubillar (twice on points).
