DESPITE being the heavy favorite going into his next fight, Nonito Donaire Jr. isn?t taking the unbeaten Omar Narvaez lightly when they face off this Sunday at the Madison Square Garden in New York.
?This is Nonito?s first time fighting in New York, so it?s big for him,? Donaire?s trainer, Robert Garcia, told Boxing Scene. ?But we?ve got a great opponent. He?s an undefeated fighter, a champion who, if I?m not mistaken, broke a record in Argentina by defending his (titles) 17 or 18 times. So we can?t take him lightly. We?ve got to come out with a good game plan.?
Although Narvaez is 36 years old, he is undefeated and holds an impressive record of 35-0-2 with 19 knockouts. He is also a two-division world champion and will be gunning for his third against Donaire Jr., who will be defending his World Boxing Organization (WBO) and World Boxing Council (WBC) bantamweight crowns he won against Fernando Montiel earlier this year with an impressive second-round stoppage.
Narvaez won the WBO flyweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Adonis Rivas in 2002. He then defended his belt 16 times for almost seven years before moving up a division higher. The Argentine then won the vacant WBO super flyweight title against Everth Briceno by unanimous decision last year and defended the crown thrice before moving up to the bantamweight to face Doanire Jr.
?We can?t take this fight lightly because we want to get those big fights that Bob Arum (Donaire?s promoter) could be talking about or that Cameron Dunkin (Donaire?s manager) has in mind,? said Garcia.
Donaire Jr. plans to move up to super bantamweight after this fight and would like to face the likes of WBC super bantamweight king Toshiaki Nishioka and International Boxing Federation super bantamweight titleholder Jorge Arce.
