By Chris Robinson
It must take a lot of patience being Nonito Donaire Jr. While the 27-year old is widely recognized and respected for his unique blend of talent and skills, there has been a definite waiting game that has been going on with his career. Donaire burst into the spotlight with a July 2007 knockout over brash Vic Darchinyan but failed to seize the momentum afterwards as people have waited excruciatingly for another showcase performance from him.
The ideal opponent for Donaire is WBC and WBO bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel, a fight that still seems likely for early 2011 despite the Los Mochis, Mexico native recently fracturing his leg in a motorcycle accident. Montiel will likely take a few months to heal and if the two men can find a way to meet up in the first quarter of next year it will be a fight long in the waiting.
Donaire is coming off of an 8th round stoppage over Hernan ‘Tyson’ Marquez in San Juan, Puerto Rico in July and spent the following months traveling, relaxing and waiting patiently for word on a possible bout with Donaire. I talked to the ultra talented fighter earlier tonight and caught up with him about the past few months of his life, his upcoming fight with Sidorenko, his thoughts on Showtime’s bantamweight tournament as well as his opinion on upcoming bouts such as Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito, Amir Khan vs. Marcos Maidana and more.
Continue reading below for all of Donaire’s thoughts…
Stopping Hernan Tyson…
“I was able to fight left-handed and I was happy about that. To get a few more rounds in. I learned a lot from that fight in itself. I was fighting a southpaw and it was a tremendous experience for me, what I learned that night. Going into that fight I was very confident and the more fights I get into I am just getting really, really confident. I can see the punches coming and it was just a good experience overall.”
Vacation afterwards in Puerto Rico…
“Puerto Rico was really fun for me, for my family and everything. Everyone on my team hit the beach. It was beautiful and we went to the jungle, the forrest and all kinds of other stuff were out there. We were going around and there were old buildings there. Puerto Rico was just a nice place and we really had a good time going around Puerto Rico.”
Returning home…
“Usually in the Philippines I always go back to the visit. I do a lot of shows out there. I usually go after every fight. It’s just a different world out there. Nothing boxing related. I try not to think about boxing and try to just relax my mind, visit the island and have a good time. We were just trying to plan things out, my wife and I. We were just doing shows and meeting up with people and stuff like that. Pretty much just trying to get out of the mentality of fighting and now that I am coming back and I am eager.”
Going to Las Vegas in mid-September…
“It was amazing. A friend of mine from Japan invited me. Usually when I am in Las Vegas it’s for training camp or to watch a Pacquiao fight. There is really no time to watch shows or do this. But this time I was sure to have a good time. Aria was just amazing. The view and just everything. It was a great experience and I have never had as much fun as I did this time.”
Waiting for the Fernando Montiel bout…
“I had doubts. I heard various reports and figured something would postpone the Montiel fight. We wanted to make sure, that’s why we signed a two-fight contract with Top Rank to ensure us that we are going to fight Montiel. I’m happy signing that contract to make sure my fight with Montiel gets made.”
Getting ready for Wladimir Sidorenko…
“He’s a tough fighter. He’s a good fighter. I just saw his fight for the first time today. He has very good defense and he is a shell. He’s a shell that I need to crack and I am just working on enabling how I can break that shell. He’s going to be a tough guy. I’m going to go in there and he’s going to be prepared for me. I don’t see a lot of power in his punches but he is a volume puncher and when you get caught with one or two or three of them you are definitely going to feel it in the long run. That’s what makes him dangerous. He’s a volume puncher and he’s tough.”
Latin Fury presser in Los Angeles…
“It was fun. It was my first time in a long, long time fighting in L.A. or doing a press con in L.A. or something like that. Of course I have fought on the same card as Chavez for a few fights and I have known him. He’s always been cool with and respectful. He’s getting better every time and he’s fighting Alfonso Gomez, who I grew up in the amateurs with as well. Brandon Rios, we have the same trainer in Robert Garcia, so we really hit it off. It was really cool being around those fighters and Humberto Soto as well. He always comes up to me and he’s always trying to talk to me as much as he can. All the guys are really cool and it was a really cool atmosphere all around. Those guys are all going to fight their hearts out and it will be very interesting. I was telling everybody it is going to be a night of fireworks because you have all these guys who are willing to give everything in there. It’s really going to be fun.”
Keeping tabs with Robert Garcia…
“I talked with Robert, not too much lately though, I haven’t talked to him as much. He ensured me that he would be in my training camp after the Pacquiao-Margarito fight. Regardless of what the outcome is he is going to be there.”
Breaking down Pacquiao-Margarito…
“In that fight I think Pacquiao has all the speed to take Margarito. I mean Margarito is tough, he’s strong, and he’s bigger. But we’ve all seen that in Manny’s previous fights where everybody is bigger than him. I think that the speed is the key to his victory. He has the tools and he has the power as well. I think Pacquiao is going to use his speed and he’s going to win this fight.”
Showtime’s bantamweight tournament…
“I think that’s cool. I don’t know how long that tournament is going to be. I feel that I am getting bigger and bigger but whoever wins in that tournament I am willing to step up and fight that guy. It’s a good matchup. These guys are hungry for it and without the Montiel fight I would have totally gone in there. But I think my manager and promoter made the right decision by setting me up with Montiel. It doesn’t matter for me and I’m willing to face whoever comes out of that tournament.”
Responding to Joseph Agbeko’s trash talk…
“People like that are ignorant. They don’t know how it goes with negotiations. It’s not always about the fighter’s decisions. The only thing is that I am more than willing to move up when I get the chance to face a better opponent. I have the options now. It’s just funny to me how people react. It just makes me laugh either way. It’s almost as foolish as Darchinyan is. He can call me a coward or whatever but fact is I’m going after the biggest bantamweight, the biggest fish in the pond. Fact is, I’m not willing to say at bantamweight for a whole year. I’m still growing and I’m going to do the biggest fight and move up.”
Amir Khan vs. Marcos Maidana…
“I think that Amir Khan has a tough fight in front of him. Maidana is strong, and Maidana is usually tough as well. It’s going to be a good fight to see. If the young Khan uses his boxing mobility, his youth, compared to Maidana’s strength and power and resilience and toughness. Who is more willing to go beyond what they are capable of. With this fight I think it’s a classic matchup.”
Breaking for camp…
“I start this week and I’m going to be training again in the same place in San Carlos at Undisputed. I’m going to get an early start. I have a lot of sparring [lined up] and if I need more I have other kids. We’re just trying to get in the best shape possible for this fight. We’re going to be throwing a lot of punches.”
Chris Robinson is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. An archive of his work can be found here, and he can be reached at Trimond@aol.com
