IBF flyweight champion Nonito Donaire Jr. said yesterday he will settle for a bargain basement purse and won’t mind fighting on hostile territory for the chance to unify the 112-pound crown against either WBA titleholder Takefumi Sakata or WBC ruler Daisuke Naito.
“I don’t care about the purse and I’m willing to fight in Japan,” said Donaire. “All I want is to unify the championship. If interest in boxing is declining, it’s because the best fighters avoid each other with so many titles available. My goal is to become the undisputed flyweight champion of the world. I’ll do whatever it takes to make it happen.”
But promoter Noli Eala told The Star the other day he was discouraged from trying to arrange a unification bout by Japanese matchmaker Joe Koizumi. Eala said he offered to stage a fight for Donaire against Sakata or Naito in Dubai.
Neither champion will agree to fight Donaire unless he is the mandatory challenger, said Eala. And they will fight outside of Japan only if ordered by the WBA or WBC. The bottom line is they’re avoiding Donaire like the plague.
Eala said he is now negotiating with Donaire’s promoter Gary Shaw to arrange a title defense against Hussein Hussein, an Australian of Lebanese descent, in Dubai instead. Eala is assembling a blockbuster bill that may include WBO minimumweight champion Donnie Nietes, Rey (Boom Boom) Bautista and Bobby Pacquiao in the undercard.
When informed of the Japanese champions’ reaction, Donaire was disappointed.
“I look forward to the challenge of facing fighters who are supposed to be better than me,” said Donaire. “I took the (Vic) Darchinyan fight at short notice and the experts didn’t give me a chance to win. I don’t care if I have less than a 50-50 chance to win and I don’t care about the purse. I’m a fighter and I want to be the best in my division. That’s why I’m calling out to Sakata or Naito. It’s too bad they don’t want to fight me.”
Donaire, 25, said if a unification isn’t possible, he’ll likely move up to the superflyweight class sooner than later.
Naito, 33, is set to stake his title against former champion Pongsaklek Wonjongkam in a mandatory defense on Jan. 29. Sakata, 27, has no scheduled match.
“I’ll fight them in their backyard if that’s what they want,” said Donaire. “I would love to go to Japan. What’s the point of being a world champion if you don’t want to fight the best, if you don’t want to prove you’re the best?”
Donaire arrived here with his mother Imelda and girlfriend Rachel Marcial from San Francisco last month. He is awaiting word from Shaw on his next fight. Shaw will fly in Jan. 21 and stay for the title eliminator between Z Gorres and Darchinyan in Cebu on Feb. 2.
During the holidays, Donaire’s weight went up to 135 pounds. But yesterday, he was down to 127. Donaire said he runs, does plyometrics and goes to the gym for conditioning workouts every day. An area of concentration is his footspeed. Donaire said he is working on his leg movement with his girlfriend, a Fil-Am taekwondo champion slated to compete for a spot in the national team in the CPJ Open next month.
Every morning, Donaire and Marcial do roadwork at the Alabang Hills Village. In the afternoon, they work out at Gold’s Gym or Ringside in Alabang as Charlie Gamboa’s guests.
Once a fight date is confirmed, Donaire said he will go to Cebu and set up camp at the ALA gym.
“The ALA gym has excellent facilities and some of the world’s best sparring partners in my division,” said Donaire. “I’ll need at least two months of hard training before my next fight. I don’t care whom I fight. I’ll prepare just as hard for a defense as a unification bout.”
Donaire’s father Nonito Sr., who works his corner and is his chief trainer, planed in from San Francisco the other day and is now in Davao. Father and son are expected to hook up when a fight is confirmed for Donaire by Shaw.