Nonito Donaire To Help Penalosa Prepare For Eric Morel

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

IBF/IBO flyweight champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire says he will help WBO bantamweight champion Gerry Penalosa prepare for his planned title defense against reigning WBO Intercontinental bantamweight champion Eric “Little Hands of Steel” Morel of Puerto Rico in a fight scheduled to take place  sometime in February.

In an overseas telephone conversation with insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports, Donaire said he will visit the Philippines for Christmas and would himself start training by “actually trying to help out Gerry (Penalosa) for his next fight against (Eric) Morel.”

There were also reports that Penalosa was talking to the giant broadcast network ABS-CBN about staging a rematch with former WBO super bantamweight champion Daniel Ponce De Leon on the same card where world-rated super flyweight Z "The Dream" Gorres would see action on February 21 in Cebu.

Donaire said he “ knows Morel’s style. He is the taller guy but really doesn’t have much power but he moves a lot and that’s what I’m going to try to do to help Gerry out.” Donaire revealed that aside from “moving a lot Morel also throws a lot of punches and combinations.”

Morel who has a record of 39-2 with 20 knockouts stands 5’6 ½” while Penalosa is listed at 5’4” and has a record of 53-6-2 with 36 knockouts. Morel is the former WBA flyweight champion and the IBA and WBO super flyweight champion who won the Intercontinental title with a twelve round unanimous decision over Heriberto Ruiz of Mexico .

Ruiz recently beat Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista rather badly after Bautista was cut by a head-butt in three places and his vision hampered by the blood flowing into his eyes although Ruiz looked sharp, strong and far more mature than the 22 year old Filipino.

Morel is scheduled to fight Ricardo Vargas in a tune-up fight on December 13 in Puerto Rico . Vargas had previously lost a 9th round technical decision to Ruiz in an IBF bantamweight title eliminator.

Donaire  said he met Penalosa during the “Dream Match” between Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya and that’s when “we decided to help each other out.”

Donaire said Top Rank promoter Bob Arum who said he was “negotiating for a March title fight against  Fernando Montiel” who is the  WBO super flyweight champion with Donaire moving up to 115 pounds.Arum himself confirmed the fight would be in March either in Manila or Macau and said he was working with Solar Sports to try and stage the fight in the Philippines.