By Jake Donovan

The fact that a major title - a title he used to hold, no less - is now at stake matters little to Nonito Donaire ahead of his upcoming battle with Cesar Juarez. The focus was never solely on winning a world title, but simply winning every fight from here on out.

Specific to present day business, Donaire (35-3, 23KOs) knows there is no margin for error ahead of tonight’s super bantamweight clash with Juarez. The bout takes place at Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico, airing live on truTV.

The writing has been on the wall for a while, but it took a lot for the former four-division champion to come around. It wasn’t the fact that - having celebrated his 33rd birthday in November - he’s simply on the wrong side of his physical prime. All fighters’ skills deteriorate at some point, but it’s the adjustments you are willing to make that determine whether you can remain relevant or just become a name for the next generation of fighters hungry to take your place.

For Donaire, the biggest adjustment he needed to make was all in one area.

“Honestly, it was just the way I looked at the sport,” Donaire said of what has gone wrong in recent years – relatively speaking of course. “I realized, it wasn't about my style or skills that needed to be changed. It was my mentality.”

Most fighters would kill to claim even a fraction of the success enjoyed by the 33-year old Fil-Am star. Following a surprise loss in his second pro fight, Donaire rattled off 30 straight wins that included championship reigns in four weight classes (and an interim title reign at super flyweight).

The first of the lot was a breakout performance, upsetting the odds to knock out then-unbeaten flyweight king Vic Darchinyan in 2007. From there came his conquering of the bantamweight division, steamrolling unified champ Fernando Montiel inside of two rounds to emphatically announce his arrival as one of the very best in the sport.

His stature only grew in 2012, scoring four wins in as many fights on the year in conquering the super bantamweight division. It was also good enough to land Fight of the Year honors, such success he appeared to have handled just fine on the outside but perhaps beginning to feel himself just a little too much.

“I have to admit, my career reached a point where it felt like it was just a work day when I went to the gym,” Donaire admits. “It was always like that. I took a lot for granted.”

Reality set in mere months into his 2013 ring campaign. Just two days after being formally presented with the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) 2012 Fighter of the Year award, Donaire suffered what should have been a humbling 12-round loss to unbeaten Guillermo Rigondeaux.

The loss snapped a 30-fight win streak and thus ended his super bantamweight reign. The wheels appeared to be falling off the wagon, as Donaire struggled mightily in his Nov. ’13 rematch with Darchinyan, who was a shell of his former self by that point but delivering his best performance in years. Donaire had to rally from behind to deliver a knockout win, thus preserving his hopes of capturing a featherweight title.

That moment came last May, once again overcoming a sluggish start and a gruesome cut to floor defending champ Simpiwe Vetyeka at the end of round four. It came right on time, as the fight was stopped early in round five with Donaire collecting a technical decision win.

It was his last victory in a championship setting. Donaire was as competitive as his undersized body would allow against murderous punching Nicholas Walters, suffering two knockdowns en route to the lone stoppage loss of his career when the bout was halted in six rounds.

Two wins have followed, albeit against made to order opposition. The fact that Donaire has been up for both fights, though, has convinced his handlers – and more importantly himself – that the comeback is for real and there’s plenty of air left in the proverbial tires.

“It's not about having the best things in life or the championships,” Donaire has come to realize. “Don’t get me wrong, I will reach for them (as a prizefighter). For me, though it was about the fulfillments in my life - my wife, my family. It's about being a better husband, a better father. That motivates me to push harder in the gym.

“The difference now is that I’m energized. I can get through a tough workout and finish my sparring still ready for more. That’s the difference between then and now. We are hyptonized to believe that once we hit 30, we no longer have the same reflexes. We feel like we did at 21. My speed is more incredible. The reflex is going to be there.” 

As long as he keeps winning, the opportunities will be there as well. It begins with Friday, which was originally just to be contested for a regional title. With the word of a vacant world title came an increased relevance to those tuning in and perhaps to those on site involved with the event.

For Donaire, it’s still all about beating Juarez.

“He’s ranked higher than I am,” Donaire says of their positioning in the WBO super bantamweight rankings. “He’s a tough guy and he’s hungry like a wolf. I have to slay the wolf.

“It’s not the title, we aim for everything at this point. It could be an eight round fight… a ten-round fight, it could be a for a championship. I’m going to train my ass off.”

A world of opportunities lie ahead, of which Donaire is well aware. It was always that way, but he never allowed himself to be in a position to appreciate it. That is no longer the case.

“I reached that point in my career, where I was asking myself what's next,” Donaire reflects. “I was always complaining about little things. Not anymore. You learn from it and you move forward.”

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox