San Leandro light flyweight Glenn Donaire?s retirement has not been announced, but a recent blog post by his brother Nonito, the IBF flyweight champion, confirmed that Glenn is nowhere near the boxing scene anymore.
That?s also what Nonito told me the day after his spectacular fourth-round stoppage of Raul Martinez in April — that Glenn is dedicated to family life and a permanent vocation in the Bay Area, and has lost his enthusiasm for boxing.
Glenn turns 30 this year and was accepting his impending exit from boxing more readily than was Nonito. The Donaires were on parallel tracks for a long time, though with disparate styles, as the quieter Glenn has a conversely more frenetic ring style. ?I want him to be part of all this,? Nonito was still thinking aloud. ?He can be where I?m at.?
But Nonito knew nearly as well as Glenn that the wind isn?t blowing that way. It hasn?t been since Glenn (17-4-1, nine knockouts) suffered a one-round loss to Z Gorres in 2005. He remained an elite fighter, but he was badly injured in a six-round loss to Vic Darchinyan in 2006 (famously avenged by Nonito in 2007), and he lost a decisive 12-rounder to Ulises Solis in 2008.
Never mind how Glenn feels about fighting in Nonito?s shadow. More telling to Glenn?s psyche, no doubt, was that the Donaire brothers? 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials nemesis Brian Viloria defeated Solis convincingly the night Nonito beat Martinez.
?I always wanted us to be like the Marquez brothers,? Nonito said, but that was a while ago. Now Glenn might still have main-event juice in the Philippines, but he doesn?t in California, where he wants to be.
But Glenn Donaire has had a successful, memorable career. If he isn?t fighting anymore, maybe it?s time to congratulate him.
