On the night of February 19th, 2011, Nonito Donaire- who faces Jeffrey Mathebula tonight at the Home Depot Center in a 122-pound unification tilt- became perhaps the most buzzworthy fighter in the sport not named Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather. On this night, he halted Fernando Montiel in just two rounds on the strength of a lethal left hook that had the highly regarded Mexican dazed and twitching on the canvas for a few seconds. It was the culmination of a three-fight run that saw him impressively stop Hernan ?Tyson? Marquez, Vladimir Sidorenko and then Montiel. He was a streaking fighter on his way to big things.
One who would transcend titles or weight classes and perhaps even outrun the prodigious shadow of fellow Filipino Pacquiao.
And then just like that, he was one engaged in a dispute with his promoter Top Rank that saw him shelved for months. Since his return, he?s come up victorious against Omar Narvaez and Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. but while he dominated those fights for the most part, they were a tad disappointing in nature. Yeah, Vince Lombardi once famously said that winning is basically the only thing but in this sport, how you win and the impression you leave is just as important. The last two performances from the ?Filipino Flash? left something to be desired.
Donaire himself says of his last 24 rounds, ?I wasn?t really happy about them; the guys were really defensive. I couldn?t do anything about it but something where I actually learned a lot more than from knocking guys out really early. But I?ve learned a lot and got my confidence up and the experience of being in that ring. It takes awhile for you to really feel the punches and everything, so I?ve learned this with the experience that I have had in those two fights. I don?t want to do it again but if it comes down to it, I know I don?t have to worry about my stamina running out. That experience alone will make me more aggressive.?
He admits the experience, while beneficial, was frustrating. By nature, Donaire wants to be an entertainer in the ring.
?It was frustrating because you?re a fighter; you go out there and you know you can?t win just being defensive. Those guys were very defensive. I mean, when they were offensive, they would just throw their jabs. And that was it; it was in a defensive stance. So it was frustrating because I?m the type of fighter that I?m going to go out there and knock my opponent out. I dream about that every night before the fight; I want to knock the guys out and that?s the most satisfying victory that I can have,? said Donaire, whose fight against Narvaez in New York was panned loudly. He also heard some catcalls in the Alamodome during the slower moments of his bout with Vazquez Jr.
Not all wins are created the same in this business.
?It was definitely frustrating knowing that they went 12 rounds,? said Donaire, who perhaps lacked willing dance partners. After all, it does take two to tango.
?The thing with Nonito is that he was so exciting in that Sidorenko fight and of course he caught lighting in a bottle with Montiel with that one shot that was heard ?round the world. But it?s hard to repeat that again,? said his manager, Cameron Dunkin. ?It doesn?t happen every day; it was a perfectly timed shot. He saw it coming and he did it and he hasn?t had opponents since then that have engaged the last two fights and it?s hard to get them to open up. I mean, people say Vazquez fought him. Vazquez didn?t fight him; he waited and waited and kept his hands up to his face and Nonito hurt his hard really bad and even then, he dropped him with his bad hand. But he just hasn?t had an opponent that?s made that exciting fight, that exciting knockout possible and I think that?s what he?s looking for in this fight.?
If you really wanted to scrutinize Donaire?s career, you could argue that between two big left hooks thrown in 2007 (against Vic Darchinyan, when Donaire first burst onto the scene) and then the aforementioned shot against Montiel, it?s been years of squandered momentum, stops and starts and plenty of drama, whether spurred by his conflict with his former TV packager, Gary Shaw (which led to his joining Top Rank, whom he eventually tried leaving for Golden Boy Promotions last year) or his family drama centered mostly on his contentious relationship with his father.
Yeah, it?s been a bit of a soap opera for ?Days of our Donaire.?
?I think there haven?t been issues for awhile,? said Bob Arum, who famously cracked that Donaire?s wife, Rachel, last year was all ?tarted up? during their dispute. ?It seems everything is copacetic and [Donaire] seems in good spirits and we have a whole bunch of top-level fights laid out for him and there?s no reason why he shouldn?t shine. I mean, this guy, Jeffrey Mathebula, presents a big problem because he?s by far the biggest guy Donaire?s ever fought.?
Dunkin believes his fighter is now ready to make a real sustained run at age 29.
?That?s what I think; I think everything?s clear. He?s happy. His personal life is settled; his professional life?s settled. He?s in a perfect spot to make a run and I think he?s happy with everything and I think he?s focused. All he wants to do now is accomplish things. He wants to be the best fighter he can be and he wants to be an all-time great,? said the manager. Mathebula is a tall and lanky South African, who was basically chosen because he has a major title belt (and yes, they are important. Without his IBF strap, he?s not even considered for this assignment). ?The only reason I would fight these guys at ?22 is that they have the belt,? admitted Donaire, who has collected trinkets at 112, 115, 118 and 122 pounds. ?I feel like I can beat these guys but they got good credibility. They?re good champions and I don?t want to fight guys who are not world champions. I want to fight guys out there like [Guillermo] Rigondeaux and [Abner] Mares because they have belts.?
Arum says that if Donaire comes out victorious this weekend, they have Jorge Arce and Toshiaki Nishioka lined up next.
So can Donaire recapture the buzz he had early last year?
?I think it happened in 2007 and it happened in 2011; that means I can make it at any moment,? he said with confidence. ?Especially that I?m on top now fighting the best out there that will get me that type of buzz and I?m willing to fight anybody out there. So it?s not so much recapturing that momentum or building up that moment; it?s more of just fighting the best out there. And I think I can make it happen this year, next year, any moment that I have a good opponent with me. Things in 2011 needed to happen.?
Donaire firmly believes he?s ready to go on a dominant run and make history.
?I think so,? he said, not regretting anything that?s happened in the past. ?All those things happened. It was meant to happen and I think it?s clear for now. So I keep getting the right fights, big names, guys who are world champions. I think it?ll be a good couple of years until renegotiations but I believe at this time, I?ll be a lot bigger than I am now and it?s going to be more my terms than everybody else?s terms.?
UNDISPUTED
For this bout, Donaire went back to his roots, training in Northern California at the Undisputed Gym and working once again with noted track guru Remi Korchemny while under the supervision of Victor Conte. It was an admission that what he did the previous two fights- where he trained in Las Vegas- was not working.
?Just the atmosphere there with Remi kicking your butt every week and everyone at Undisputed Gym giving you all that determination and desire to train hard because you got people around you supporting throughout. That?s why I stayed in the Bay Area and completed my training camp there because it was just another level of training. I just feel I reached another level of myself being in that camp,? said Donaire.
Conte says, ?I saw him all the time, almost on a daily basis. So on the track, in the gym, in my opinion, this is the best camp we?ve ever seen off the ones he?s done in the Bay Area. This is the sixth fight with us and the last two he didn?t come and train here, even though I was in contact with him and he continued to do the testing and take the supplements and I provided consultation to him. But it was not hands-on and the missing factor was Remi. And I think Remi?s an extremely important part of Nonito?s preparation and he did better this time with his ?Remi-training? than any time in the past.
?This is the best I?ve ever seen Nonito in all aspects of his training.?
