Mere minutes after Nonito Donaire had left the Top Rank Gym, finishing up his portion of the open media workout for his fight this Saturday night against Fernando Montiel, the Los Mochis, Mexico native arrived with his team. Montiel will defend his WBC and WBO bantamweight crown against his Fil-Am rival this Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Slightly peculiar about Donaire’s appearance was the fact that he simply fielded questions from the media, participated in a photo shoot and then left the building. Taking Donaire’s lead, Montiel too wasn’t exactly in the fighting spirit on this day as his only real work consisted of a brief shadowboxing display and a few minutes on the speed bag.
<--- Slideshow: Fernando Montiel exudes confidence heading into Montiel clash
Prior to that, Montiel was able to field various questions from the media in relation to his fight this weekend. What stood out about the 31-year old, three-division champion was just how confident he is heading into this fight. Speaking with vigor and passion, Montiel let it be known that the 2-1 odds against him don’t mean a thing and that he is here to upset Donaire’s apple cart.
As his time speaking near the ring came to a close I asked Montiel myself if it was hard to find the right kind of sparring partners to emulate Donaire’s tricky style. He revealed that he had been putting in work with a wide range of talent down in Mexico, including southpaws and fighters with tremendous size.
I also asked Montiel if he felt he had the power to end Donaire’s night early or if he thought he needed to break him down with an accumulation of punches.
“I don’t think I have the power,” Montiel said.”I know I have the power to hurt him. Whether it’s with one shot or over time.”
This is do or die for both men and you could sense that in Montiel’s voice. Saturday night can’t come soon enough.
