Montiel-Donaire: Fernando Spars 14 Rounds, Looks Fresh

By Jhonny Gonzalez

WBO/WBC bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel was reported to have put in fourteen rounds of hard sparring and looked fresh at the end. He will defend his crown against tough Filipino Nonito Donaire on February 19 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. He wants to make the biggest statement of his career with a big victory over Donaire. Montiel is already planning a head to a title run at super bantamweight. He stuggled to make the weight for his last couple of fights, although his weight is on schedule for Donaire.

Sparring partners David "Flecha" Gaspar, "Josecito" Félix Montiel and "Zurdito" Ramírez took the bulk of the punishment in the ring.

"He has done a thorough job. This fight is very important to me and I can not lose. I'm taking care of every detail. Everybody knows that since Nonito beat Vic Darchinyan, I challenged him publicly and he said yes, but never signed for the fight. It took years to to encourage him to do it and now I can not pass up the chance to beat him," said Montiel told Charles Winter.