Donaire: On the Road to
Dubai
By Mario Ortega Jr.
Nonito Donaire Jr. (19-1,
12 KOs) touched down in the United States last
week from Philippines, where he has become a
national hero. “The Filipino Flash’s”
rise to fame was one of the well chronicled
stories of 2007. Only few insiders gave him
much of a chance to defeat then unbeaten IBF
Flyweight Champion Vic Darchinyan in July. The
result was a devastating fifth-round knockout,
a new champion, and the launching of a new star
in boxing. Donaire followed the title-winning
victory up with an eighth-round knockout of
mandatory challenger Luis Maldonado in December,
who had only lost previously to Darchinyan.
Donaire is currently rated the top flyweight
in the world by the most respected rankers of
the sport, including The Ring Magazine, and
preparing for another challenge. On April 18th
Donaire will travel to Dubai to defend his title
against Hussein Hussein (31-4, 24 KOs), a tough
former Australian Olympian who has given some
of the best flyweights in the world tough fights.
Donaire traveled to Reno,
Nevada, on Thursday to be on hand when his brother
Glenn returned from a lengthy layoff to meet
Jose Albuquerque in an eight-round rematch at
the Silver Legacy Resort Casino the following
night. After initial reports came out of the
Philippines that he would train at the famed
ALA Gym, as he did for the Maldonado bout, Donaire
decided to train in the United States instead.
One of the reasons for the change of heart was
so he could show support for his brother. “I
wanted to see my brother fight. I got to support
him. He hasn’t fought in such a long time.”
In addition to his brother’s fight, Donaire
felt he would be better off training in the
States to get away from some of the distractions
that he has encountered in the Philippines.
“Out there, there are a lot of distractions
for me,” says Donaire. “Aside from
that, the traffic, I can’t really work
out the way I want to. With the traffic it takes
so, so long to get to the location. Aside from
that, there is lots of press and other people,
high class people, inviting me to dinner and
sometimes I can’t say no. So I put all
that into consideration, knowing I want to work
hard, I want to be at my best. It’s important
for me to do my normal routine.”
The Donaire training camp
will be based in Las Vegas. Rarely do you hear
of someone moving to Las Vegas to get away from
distractions, but that is how in demand Donaire
has become in his native country. One great
thing about training at the ALA Gym is the world
class sparring. However Donaire will not have
trouble finding formidable sparring in Las Vegas.
Among his sparring partners, is Austreberto
Juarez, who manager Cameron Dunkin once likened
to the legendary Michael Carbajal. Juarez (8-0,
2 KOs) is a tall super bantamweight with an
accomplished amateur pedigree. The night before
his brother’s fight, Nonito worked out
in the ring, with his father-trainer Nonito
Sr, at the University of Nevada Boxing Gym.
Two months out from his title defense, Donaire
felt a little heavy, but good, working out in
the rarefied Reno air. “I’m training
in a high altitude place right now and I feel
good,” says Donaire. “The high altitude
is really helping me out. I’ll be here
for a few days and I’m gonna take advantage
of it. I ran hard today and worked out tonight,
I feel good, so far so good.”
The Donaire-Hussein bout
will be held at the Aviation Arena in Dubai,
United Arab Emirates. Although former heavyweight
champion Michael Moorer recently fought in Dubai,
this will be the first major card held in the
country. “There was an invitation, or
request, from the promoter in the Philippines,
Noli Eala of Third Force [Promotions]. They
had that promotion over there and they wanted
a championship fight to be held in Dubai,”
explains Donaire. “There was a request
for me to fight there. It’s the first
championship fights in Dubai, so this fight
is a historical fight.” Three other Filipinos
will compete in bouts of significance on the
undercard. IBF Light Flyweight Champion Ulises
Solis, of Mexico, will defend against Juanito
Rubillar of the Philippines, the Philippines’
WBO Minimumweight Champion Donnie Nietes will
defend against Daniel Reyes of Columbia and
the Philippines’ Ranee Ganoy will meet
Julio Diaz of Coachella, California for the
#2 IBF lightweight ranking.
Despite the new venue for
the fight, Donaire is not concerned about the
officiating, “They assured me that it’s
gonna be fair. Sometimes it’s not really
fair, but that’s boxing,” concedes
Donaire. “I’m gonna go in there
and give it all I got. I’m going to train
hard and do my best. I don’t really care
what the place is. Dubai, it’s their first
time, and they are putting people in from all
around the world so there won’t be biases
towards one camp or the other.” In Hussein,
Donaire meets a battle-tested opponent, who
may feel more comfortable in Dubai since he
has a Middle Eastern background. Hussein has
also been quoted that he sees this fight as
an opportunity to exact revenge for his stablemate
Vic Darchinyan’s knockout loss. “When
it comes down to it, it is going to be two fighters
in there trying to do their best and may the
best man win. I am going to give it all I got
and he’s going to give it all he’s
got. That’s what it all comes down to
in that ring, it doesn’t matter what the
place is.”
Mario Ortega Jr.
can be reached at ortega15rds@lycos.com
