Donaire in stable condition after bout with dengue

MANILA, Philippines - World Boxing Association (WBA) champion Nonito Donaire remained confined at the Asian Hospital and Medical Center in Muntinlupa a day after he was brought in due to high fever. Initial blood tests showed signs of dengue.

The boxer himself texted The STAR last night, saying that while “signs of dengue platelets have dropped, my temperature (at 40 degrees Thursday evening) is going up and down.”

The reigning world champion said he’s still on IV (intravenous) and will remain confined at the hospital for another day.

“Thanks for all your prayers but this fight is not over yet,” said Donaire, just weeks after he defeated Panama’s Rafael Concepcion in Las Vegas.

Manager Cameron Dunkin says a regimen of intravenous fluids helped to reduce the fighter’s fever, which dropped to 100 degrees (38 degrees C) on Thursday after climbing above 104 (40).

Donaire’s wife, Rachel, thinks the boxer likely contracted the fever from a mosquito bite. More than 50 million people per year are believed to be affected by dengue fever, found largely in the tropics.

“Some people don’t react to it, some people do,” Dunkin said. “Rachel told me, ‘It can be dangerous, but we caught it very early and we got him in.”’

Donaire (22-1, 14 KOs) was the IBF flyweight champion before moving up to 115 pounds (52 kilograms). He hasn’t lost since his second professional bout in March 2001, most notably knocking out Vic Darchinyan to claim the IBF 112-pound (50-kilogram) title.

Despite the health scare, Donaire and his wife intend to remain in the Philippines for another month, Dunkin said. Donaire could have his next fight in early December, but he’s filling the time in between by singing on a Filipino television reality show, meeting politicians and doing charity work.

He also met with Manny Pacquiao, the pound-for-pound champion who hasn’t begun training for his Nov. 14 bout with Miguel Cotto.

Donaire and Pacquiao are major celebrities in the Philippines, but their trainers and promoters at Top Rank sometimes see both fighters’ focus wander under their native land’s spotlight. – Abac Cordero with report from AP