In 2012 many agreed that Nonito Donaire was the fighter of the year due to the quality and quantity of opponents. Years before, in 2007, Donaire sent waves through the Flyweight division when he knocked our Vic Darchinyan, capturing the IBF title. Six years after they originally squared up, Donaire and Darchinyan will meet in the ring again on Novemeber 9th at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. Although the outcome of that fight may weigh heavy in the minds of fans and media, Donaire is not focused on the previous result and doesn’t think that he and Darchinyan are the same fighters, he stated, “I don’t really look back. I only look forward – to this fight. We have grown so much since six years ago in 2007. We are looking forward to everything in terms of style and power. We can go back and get a little reference to that fight in 2007 but he will be a lot different when he shows up on Saturday.”
Darchinyan always proves to be a tough fight with the awkward style and power in the left that he brings to the ring. Although Donaire is not looking back at the fight to boost his confidence, he does feel that watching the old videos from that fight will go a long way. “I make reference to how my style compared to his style. It is one of the keys. Everyone has to have it. We are looking for that style in this fight but we are not counting on how the fight was in 2007.”
Back in April, Donaire suffered his second loss as a professional and his first since he has been at the elite level to the hands of Guillermo Rigondeaux. When he lost, Donaire said that he wasn’t as focused as he should have been. Now rebuilding his image, Donaire is focused back on the sport that has done so much for him. “It was just a matter of me searching. Now my son is here and my dad is here working with me and we’ve been working together really well. We are training well together and the motivation is definitely coming back.” He continued, “I just realized that, hey, this is where I want to be. I want to box. The fight with Arce, I thought I was pretty much done after the fight. Then after the loss I realized that I want to be in this game for as long as I can. I want to be in the boxing world. I love the boxing world. I love the boxing scene. This is where I want to be”.
Donaire is going to have an uphill battle getting back to where he once was. It’s not that Donaire lost his fight to Rigo but it’s in the manner that he was shut out by the Cuban standout. Going back to the drawing board is not always the answer and for Donaire he just needs to get the hunger back to be champion again. “I have been just trying to recall how I became world champion and the process of it. The mentality and the desire – we are trying to bring all that out. Trying to bring youth back into my boxing style – trying to change the whole thing but it starts with the mental part, to be excited and we are very excited about this fight.”
In 2007 Donaire and Darchinyan met in the Flyweight division and now this rematch is set at the Super Bantamweight. Donaire feels with the new weight, comes a fresh start, he stated, “I feel good working out and sparring at this weight class because I am actually training to win the fight not to lose the weight. We are working on lots of game plans and not to cut down the weight and my speed is coming back so we are very excited about that.”
Fighters typically do not give up their game plan prior to the showdown. Donaire isn’t revealing his game plan but he only sees the fight going one way. “He is going to look for a knockout and I’m going to look for a knockout. I don’t think it is going to last the ten-rounds,” stated Donaire.
