Remember Nonito Donaire? The fighter whose left hook had Fernando Montiel’s leg twitching not knowing where he was mentally? Remember Nonito Donaire? The guy who iced Vic Darchinyan, chopped down a tree in Jeffery Mathebula, beat Wilfredo Vasquez Jr., and retired Takashi Nishioka? Remember Nonito Donaire, the BWAA and consensus 2012 fighter of the year? I do and I remember him picking up his fighter of the year award in New York, the week of his fight with Cuban amateur standout and world title holder Guillermo Rigondeaux.
The Filipino fans of boxing are an excellent fan base and many thought Nonito Donaire could take the mantle from Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao. But Donaire seemingly never resonated as high with the Filipino fans partly because he resides in the United States and while his knockouts were very excited, Nonito would need a cooperative partner in the ring. If his counterpart wasn’t as willing or open to trade, Nonito would look for the once punch KO that at times never came and would lead to lackluster affairs as his fight with Omar Narvaez played out.
Still, Donaire’s stock was rising even after he tried leaving his promoter Top Rank for rival Golden Boy in an attempt that failed and kept Donaire out for most of 2011. His stock kept rising even after his premier rival in the super bantamweight division Abner Mares, went to social media to make a fight and had his handlers send a contract to Donaire’s handlers which may or may not have been up to par with certain things. Still, Donaire and Top Rank never counter offered and the fight went waist side.
Donaire and Rigondeaux was the second best option and by all accounts, a much tougher fight stylistically. We learned after the fact that Donaire was not spending much time with his head trainer Robert Garcia and instead having phone training sessions while he stayed in Las Vegas tending to his pregnant wife away from where Garcia trains his fighters in Oxnard, California.
The fight came and in short, Donaire was schooled by the Cuban. The scorecards didn’t resemble how one sided the fight was even if Donaire scored a knockdown in the tenth.
Changes were needed, mainly a full training camp with Robert Garcia. Supposedly it happened for his rematch Vic Darchinyan at featherweight. The rematch was far more different than the 1st. Although Donaire again dropped Darchinyan and stopped him, Darchinyan was having much more success in a weight class where he seemed too small for. Before the stoppage, Darchinyan was up on two of the judges’ scorecards.
Donaire returns this weekend from Macao in a world title featherweight fight against Simpiwe Vetyeka. But by all accounts here in the United States and around the world, it Is being overshadowed by the rematch between Carl Froch and George Groves. Donaire seems like a forgotten boxer.
But the storyline reads more changes. “Last year I got away from what made me successful and I paid the price for that when I met Guillermo Rigondeaux. And even when I knocked out Vic Darchinyan in our rematch last year, that wasn’t the best me,” said a very candid Donaire.
He brings to the head of his corner a familiar voice in his father Nonito Doniare, Sr. He too agrees with his son’s assessment. ““Nonito got away from what made him great – his speed and footwork in combination with his power. Last year he just came forward, didn’t move his head and relied too much on his power, and that’s exactly the wrong way to fight a pure boxer like Rigondeaux as we all saw. This camp we went back to Nonito’s bread and butter – creating a mix that combines speed, movement and power. I have never seen a fighter work harder and totally dedicate himself to his tasks than Nonito did during this training camp.”
Saturday brings an opportunity of relevance, an opportunity for another world title. Even though Donaire is favored on most lines at (-390), they feel as if they are the underdogs.
“It’s been a long time since I entered a fight where I felt like an underdog but that has inspired me more,” said the four-division world champion. “I reevaluated everything. I moved my training camp to the Philippines to take advantage of the heat and humidity and to eliminate the distractions I had in Las Vegas. It was a great move. I let a lot of things I worked hard to achieve slip through my fingers last year. I want to return to where I was in 2012 and go beyond that for the reminder of my boxing career.”
The South African Vetyeka got his world title opportunity when he beat Indonesian Duad Yordan. He followed up that performance by unseating another Indonesian, longtime featherweight champion Chris John in one of the biggest upsets of 2013. For that reason, the Donaire’s are not taking the champion lightly.
“I had to work on a lot of things in camp because Vetyeka is so multidimensional inside the ring. He’s dangerous and has a lot of weapons. His last two fights were knockout victories of Daud Yordan and Chris John. Those are two tough guys. But I am confident I have the game plan and the talent to beat him. There is no doubt that May 31 at The Venetian Macao is going to be my finest hour.”
But will he be? In a weekend that is highlighted by Froch-Groves 2, will we get one of those scintillating Nonito Donaire knockouts to win the weekend? Will we remember that Nonito Donaire? Or will it be one of those dull Donaire outings to make us not remember how good Donaire could be. The truth will be displayed in the ring in Macao.
