Donaire and Ward: Friends in the Fight

Yahoo! Sports article about the history of donaire and ward's friendship..these two go way back..and how amazing would it be if one day they became the two best fighters in boxing.. read full article --> http://sports.yahoo.com/news/donaire-ward-friends-fight-195900419--box.html Donaire lost his second professional fight, a five-round decision to Rosendo Sanchez at the Pacific Sports Center in Vallejo, California. "I knew I could have taken this guy if I had done my best," Donaire said. "But I didn't care about boxing." Donaire recalled that the worst thing about losing the decision was looking into the crowd after the fight and seeing the disappointment on the faces of his family and friends. Donaire hated the way they looked at him. "I quit boxing at that moment," Donaire said. Ward, who had kept in touch with Donaire, saw that he needed help, saw an opportunity to sit and talk with his old friend. For Ward, the talk was an obligation, the kind that comes out of years of knowing someone. "It was a friend being a friend, and for him to remember and acknowledge that is an awesome thing," Ward said. "I did it as a friend and I feel like he would do the same thing for me." To Donaire, Ward's friendship went beyond a pep talk. Donaire said Ward would go to gym with him to help spark his passion. Ward would also encourage Donaire to take the bus from San Pablo to nearby Castro Valley for physical therapy. "It was kind of like a stepping stone for me," Donaire said. "There were a few times when Dre knew I did not have the money to get going and he would slip me a twenty." While trying to help Donaire outside of the ring, Ward and another close friend of Donaire' s from the amateurs, Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero, led by example inside of it. "Seeing Andre and myself rising through the ranks inspired him, made him believe he could climb back in the ring and make a good career," Said Guerrero. It was these close ties that got Donaire back in and kept him in the ring, notching win after win until his big fight, a 2007 meeting with undefeated IBO and IBO flyweight titlist Vic Darchinyan.