Donaire bout with Argentine champ Narvaez to be last at bantamweight

By Ryan Songalia Twenty-eight-year-old Nonito Donaire Jr. has never been to New York City until September 19, 2011. The recognized bantamweight world champion and the fourth-ranked pound-for-pound boxer from San Leandro, California became a tourist for one day in and was amazed on the bright lights and commotion of the "The Big Apple." "So far it's been great," said Donaire (26-1, 18 knockouts) from his hotel room in Midtown Manhattan. "We walked around for an hour and a half, it's awesome. You see all the hot dog vendors and pizzerias, it's what you see and hear about. There's a lot of diversity and a lot of people walking around. It's a little bit chilly, but I'm having a blast." Donaire, who held titles at flyweight and super flyweight before, is in New York City to promote his October 22 bout with former flyweight and current WBO super flyweight champ Omar Andres Narvaez (35-0-2, 19 KOs) of Cordoba, Argentina at Madison Square Garden's WaMu Theater. The bout will be aired in America on HBO's Boxing After Dark series. Donaire is the first reigning Filipino world champion to fight at Madison Square Garden since then super featherweight champ Gabriel "Flash" Elorde, who made a number of appearances at "The Mecca of Boxing". That it's a rarity for Filipino fighters to compete in New York City is surprising, considering that nearly 60,000 Filipino-Americans call the city home with more than half of them concentrated in Queens. A vibrant Filipino community also thrives just across the Hudson River in Jersey City. There are even Philippine parades in Manhattan, Jersey City and Passaic, New Jersey held every year. With a strong turnout at The Garden, Donaire says he could envision himself coming back again. Narvaez, a 36-year-old southpaw, is four inches shorter than Donaire at 5-foot-3 and is not generally considered a big puncher, having gone the distance in his last five fights. Narvaez won his first world title in 2002 with a decision over Adonis Rivas and successfully moved up in weight to capture his second title with another 12-round unanimous decision effort against Everth Briceno. Narvaez twice represented his country in the Summer Olympics and will be fighting for the first time in North America. Donaire sees Narvaez as a much different kind of challenge than his previous fight, when he scored a sensational second round knockout of Fernando Montiel in February. "I think in terms of power, Montiel has the upper hand," said Donaire, who was born in the Philippine province of Bohol. "They both have experience. One thing I think that Narvaez has, he's a little bit slick and a little bit faster, and that's going to be a challenge. will look at the fights and see what advantage we can take." "He (Narvaez) was the only one willing to step into the ring with me," said Donaire. "We put our challenges out there and we wanted a fight before we move up to 122 and it was an opportunity. Narvaez took the fight and I'm thankful for that because at least I'm fighting a guy who is credible, who is a champion with an incredible record and he knows how to win as well." Donaire, who is rated number four by Ring Magazine's pound-for-pound rankings, says Narvaez will be his final fight at 118 pounds, as he chose to climb up in weight in search of bigger challenges and relaxed dietary restrictions. Donaire has been inactive since the Montiel fight and admits that he let himself go a bit while on sabbatical. "I didn't have problems the last two times with Sidorenko or Montiel, then I took some time off and didn't go to the gym so I gained a little weight," said Donaire. "But I've lost already 14 pounds, so I'm there. I gotta make weight in a few days for the 30 days 10-pound weight limit. I gotta maintain and I'm trying to cut down that weight right now. It was difficult in the first couple of weeks shedding the weight, but I've been gone for a couple of months and I think I've paid a price for living the good life." Donaire says the plan is to get through Narvaez and then challenge the winner of Japan's Toshiaki Nishioka-Rafael Marquez bout on October 1, which will be contested for the Japanese's WBC super bantamweight title. Nishioka, 38-4-3 (24), is a southpaw technician not-unlike Narvaez, while Marquez (40-6, 36 KOs) is the younger brother of Manny Pacquiao rival Juan Manuel and past his best days. Top Rank, the promotional company that handles Donaire as well as Pacquiao and rising Filipino prospect Mercito Gesta, also has attractive potential Donaire rivals Juan Manuel Lopez, Yuriorkis Gamboa and Jorge Arce in its stable. Discussing the big fights that are feasible in the divisions just above him draws a look of hunger from his eyes. Or maybe it's the struggle of making weight. "We have all these guys in the list," said Donaire. "Time will tell, but one thing is for sure: Nonito Donaire will be willing to fight anyone out there." — JVP, GMA News Ryan Songalia is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and contributes to GMA News and the Filipino Reporter newspaper in New York City. He can be reached at ryan@ryansongalia.com . An archive of his work can be found at www.ryansongalia.com . Follow him on Twitter: @RyanSongalia.