While all the recent hoopla in boxing is currently centered on Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, the most viable candidate to take the mantle as the best Filipino boxer is quietly training hard for his fight against Gerson Guerrero on the Pinoy Power 3/Latin Fury 13 card.
He is none other than ‘The Filipino Flash’ Nonito Donaire Jr., the current interim WBA super flyweight champion. Recently, he took time from his busy schedule to discuss his training and future plans.
According to Nonito, he’s very pleased with the work that his sparring partners are providing him and the training is going well. Nonito also mentioned that Robert Garcia will be part of his team, along with Jonathan Penalosa. Robert Garcia should be very familiar to many Filipino boxing fans as he played a significant role in resurrecting Brian Viloria’s career.
Most casual fans may not be familiar with Donaire yet, but he is currently one of the most complete and talented fighters out today. He is currently ranked #6 by Ring Magazine in their pound-for-pound rankings. In baseball, he is what you would call a five tool athlete player. He’s got the speed, power, technical skills, defense and great ring generalship.
But his talent might be both a curse and a blessing. His talent, combined with an excellent work ethic, has helped him become a multi divisional champion, but it also has made him arguably the most avoided fighter in the sport.
It’s not hard to understand why Donaire Jr. has been avoided since he is a freak of nature and probably the Paul Williams of the lower weight divisions. He is tall, rangy, quick and blessed with power in both hands. Some may have been disappointed in his last performance against Rafael Concepcion, but fans should remember that the latter came in over the weight limit and Donaire Jr still managed to score a convincing victory over the tough Panamanian.
Right now, Nonito is not looking past Gerson Guerrero, but is hoping to land a fight with a top fighter such as Fernando Montiel in the near future. However, he did confirm Gary Shaw’s recent statements that a possible bout with Darchinyan is being discussed, but far from being finalized. The rematch with Darchinyan might have lost some luster because of the latter’s lost to Agbeko, but it will still attract a huge amount of interest from boxing fans since it is a fight that has been in demand for years.
It looks like Nonito’s career is back on the path to superstardom. A path many envisioned that he would quickly complete, considering the rising Filipino market in boxing.
I even asked Nonito about his plans as far as moving up a few more weight classes and according to him, it is his goal to fight up to the 130 lbs. division.
Some might scoff at that idea, but it is not far fetch since he’s fought before in the 118 lbs. and 122 lbs divisions early in his career. Considering the number of talented boxers between the super flyweight and lightweight divisions, he will have plenty of opportunities to get more signature fights and prove that he indeed deserves to take Pacquiao’s throne as the best Filipino boxer.
In fact, he has more in common with the current Pound for Pound king that many people may realize. From what I’ve seen and while talking to him, he is a humble and very articulate young man. He also doesn’t shy away from giving credit to those people that have that been instrumental in his success. He often credits his dad for developing him as a fighter. Nonito is also appreciative of all the help that his wife has given such as picking and dropping off his sparring partners. He also noted that her wife being an athlete herself is beneficial since she understands the sacrifices and how much time he needs to devote to his career.
He’s also very active in the community as he’s been involved and given donations to numerous charities to help kids and victims of typhoon Ondoy. In a recent article by Ronnie Nathanielz at Philboxing.com, it was mentioned that he will be providing ringside seats for Z Gorres to watch his fight and will give an undisclosed amount from his purse in order to help Gorres and his family.
Nonito is often mischaracterized as an arrogant and cocky athlete, which can’t be further from the truth. Most of his critics point out to his dismissal of his father as proof of his ‘bad’ attitude or lacking traditional Filipino values. But what should be noted is that many father and son combos have been involved in the sport of boxing and many of them ends up parting ways. Sometimes, it’s needed to further your development as a fighter. It’s like when you work out; you can’t always do the same routine.
But probably the best trait that Nonito shares with Pacquiao is his passion for singing as shown in the video below. So for those fans that always look forward to Pacquiao’s post fight concerts should not worry yet, since Nonito might very well follow the tradition.
