MANILA, Philippines - Kumpara sa mga nakaraan niyang laban, mas maigting ang ginagawang pagsasanay ngayon ni world super bantamweight king Nonito ‘The Filipino Flash’ Donaire, Jr. para sa kanilang unification fight ni Jeffrey Mathebula ng South Africa sa susunod na buwan.
“This is going to be the first fight that I really, truly worked hard,” wika ni Donaire. “Usually I’d go two or three times a week, this time I’m there everyday.”
Idedepensa ni Donaire, may 28-1-0 win-loss-draw ring record kasama ang 18 KOs, ang kanyang suot na World Boxing Organization (WBO) super bantamweight crown, habang itataya naman ni Mathebula (26-3-2, 14 KOs) ang kanyang bitbit na International Boxing Federation (IBF) belt sa Hulyo 7 sa Home Depot Center sa Carson, California.
Sakaling manalo ang 29-anyos na si Donaire sa 32-anyos na si Mathebula ay plano niyang umakyat ng weight division sa kanyang susunod na laban.
Kaya naman determinado siyang talunin ang 5-foot-10 na dating Olympic Games campaigner.
“I’m taking this fight serious and see how I feel and hopefully I carry it on for the remainder of my career,” ani Donaire.
Para sa kanilang unification fight ni Mathebula, pumayag si Donaire na sumailalim sa year-round, random drug testing ng Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA).
"I've always been this way. So to me, this is not a distraction. This is me asking people to participate in the way that I best know how to ask," wika ni Donaire sa kanyang pagsailalim sa drug test. "As I have said, all along, I have never tried to hide anything."