Donaire to showcase speed in next bout

IBF flyweight champion Nonito Donaire Jr. is arriving from San Francisco tomorrow morning to spend the holidays in town with mother Imelda and girlfriend Rachel Marcial, a Fil-Am US military taekwondo silver medalist.

Donaire’s trip was arranged by Solar Sports, which owns the exclusive local TV rights to his fights.

“I’m excited to come back home,” said Donaire in a long distance phone call from San Leandro, California. “My schedule will be hectic. There will be TV interviews, photo shoots and public appearances. I also plan to visit Manny (Pacquiao) in General Santos during his birthday on Dec. 17.”

A priority in Donaire’s calendar is a trip to Bohol to visit his ailing grandfather Francisco Gonzales to whom he dedicated his win over Mexican challenger Luis Maldonado early this month.

Solar Sports vice president for marketing Jude Turcuato said Donaire’s American promoter Gary Shaw is expected here for a brief visit on Dec. 21 to finalize the arrangements for the Z Gorres-Vic Darchinyan title eliminator in Cebu and will also discuss future plans with the Filipino Flash.

“Gary mentioned the possibility of Jun (Donaire) fighting in April,” said Turcuato. “No details are available although Gary has told Jun he’s trying to arrange a unification fight with either the WBC or WBA champion who are both Japanese.”

Donaire, 25, said his immediate priority is to become the unified 112-pound champion because no Filipino has ever gained the recognition in any weight category. Eventually, he intends to invade the superflyweight division and take on the likes of Cristian Mijares, Fernando Montiel and Jorge Arce. 

Donaire admitted he encountered rough sailing in his eighth round stoppage of Maldonado and blamed a long layoff from training for failing to dispose of the challenger earlier. He trimmed down from 138 pounds to 112 in a little over a month and the drastic reduction took a toll on his legs.

“I stayed away from the gym too long and allowed myself to go up to 138,” he said. “That was probably why my legs stiffened during the fight. I couldn’t throw my usual combinations. Worse, I saw stars in the fourth round when Maldonado hit me with a right straight and a right hook. But I was never in danger of going down. It was a good wake-up call and reminded me not to take Maldonado lightly.”

Although Donaire didn’t black out, he felt the sting of Maldonado’s blows and vowed to prepare harder for his next fight.

“I went to Cebu late last October to bring down my weight, not knowing I would fight Maldonado a month later,” said Donaire. “My focus was losing weight, not training for a fight. I trained longer for Darchinyan when I fought for the title.”

Donaire revealed that in the second round, he hurt his left hand and was worried it would break. “It was like a race,” he continued. “Either my hand would break first or Maldonado’s body. When I lost my legs, I lost my speed and relied just on my power to stop Maldonado.”

After the fight, Donaire’s left hand swelled. Doctors diagnosed a severe sprain and ruled out a fracture. Now, it’s back to normal.

Last week, Donaire began working on a kicking routine with Marcial in the gym.

“I want to showcase my footspeed in my next fight,” said Donaire. “I’m doing a lot of taekwondo drills with Rachel. That’s my focus right now. I’m eating and enjoying my time off but I’m also training to keep my weight down. I want to show my versatility in the ring. I want to show my power and speed.”

Donaire said he’s looking forward to discussing future plans when Shaw, with whom he has a three-year contract expiring in 2009, arrives.

“A lot of things have been reported in media about Gary and me,” said Donaire, referring to news of a brewing rift. “All I want is fair treatment. I’m not asking for the moon. I know I’m not in Manny’s level. Whatever happens, I promise the fans I’ll always do my best to bring honor to the Philippines.”

 Donaire was reportedly paid $125,000 to challenge Darchinyan last July but got only $80,000 for his first title defense against Maldonado.