Donaire hindi aalis sa featherweight class

MANILA, Philippines - Sinabi ni WBA featherweight champion Nonito Donaire, Jr. na mananatili siya sa 126-pound class para labanan ang mga pinakamagagaling sa nasabing dibis-yon bago umakyat sa super featherweight category.

Bumiyahe kahapon si Donaire, kasama ang asawang si Rachel at kanilang 10-buwang sanggol na si Jarel, patungong Las Vegas.

Dumating sa bansa ang 31-anyos na si Donaire noong Marso para paghandaan ang kanilang laban ni WBA featherweight titlist Simpiwe Vetyeka ng South Africa noong Mayo 31 sa Macau.

Isang araw matapos manalo ay bumalik ang pamil-ya ni Donaire sa Manila at nagbakasyon sa Boracay.

Sinabi ni Donaire na babalik siya sa Manila sa Agosto para muling magsanay bilang paghahanda sa kanyang susunod na laban alinman sa Macau o US.

“My next fight was originally scheduled in September but I’ll need a little more time for my cut to heal,” sabi ni Donaire, may 11 tahi sa ibabaw ng kanyang kaliwang mata matapos ang laban kay Vetyeka. “I don’t really know who my next opponent is.  It’s Top Rank that decides and Bob (Arum) has the final say.  I’m ready to fight anyone they put me up against.  I could fight any of the other world featherweight champions like the WBC’s Jhonny Gonzalez but he’s promoted by Golden Boy or the WBA’s Nicholas Walters or the IBF’s Evgeny Gradovich.  Or I could do a rematch against Vetyeka,” dagdag nito.

Inamin ni Donaire na nahilo siya matapos maputukan sa ibabaw ng kanyang kaliwang mata sa first round.

“I was confused and out of it. I didn’t sit down between rounds and my father told me to snap out of it.  I couldn’t see well out of my left eye but I didn’t want them to stop the fight. What opened the cut couldn’t have been a punch because I got hit by something that was harder than his punch.  Looking at the video later, I found out I was hit by an elbow then got butted,” paliwanag pa ni Donaire.

Sinabi ni Donaire na nag-alala siya na ititigil ang laban at mapapanatili ni Vetyeka ang korona via technical knockout kung ikukunsidera ng referee ng isang legal blow ang sugat niya sa mata. (QH)