The personable, skillful Donaire

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines  – After almost five hours of night driving from Manila to Baguio via the NLEX and the SCTEX and Kennon Road, we finally arrive at the Baguio Country Club in this summer capital of the country around 10 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 13.

After an exchange of texts with WBO bantamweight champion and former WBC and WBF super flyweight titlist Gerry Peñalosa, I get to sit down for one hour with reigning International Boxing Federation and International Boxing Organization flyweight champion Nonito Donaire and his charming Fil-Am wife of six months, the former Rachel Marcial. Donaire and Rachel married in Carmel, Calif. on Aug. 8, 2008. Rachel’s father is from Aklan while her mom is a Tarlaqueña.

Fellow STAR columnist Quinito Henson, who is related to Rachel, passed on Donaire’s number to us. Earlier, a son of mine, Joseph, who, as councilor in the first district of Quezon City, regularly organizes boxing bouts for his constituents with the help of businessman-sportsman Tony Aldeguer, reminded me that Peñalosa and Donaire set up camp in Baguio in preparation for their respective upcoming fights.

Donaire, the 26-year-old, 5’6 1/2’, 112 lb champ is putting his title on the line on March 22 at the Araneta Coliseum against undefeated Mexican-American and ESPN fighter Raul Martinez (24-0, 14 by knockout). The bout with Martinez will be Donaire’s third title defense after beating challengers Luis Maldonado of Mexico by technical knockout on Dec. 1, 2007 and South African Moruti Mthalane via a sixth round technical knockout on Nov. 2, 2008.

Donaire and I met in his suite at the Cooyeesan hotel along Naguilian, some 10 minutes from Session Road. Donaire trains daily except Sundays at the Shape Up Gym in Cooyeesan under the watchful eyes of the Peñalosas: Gerry, Dodie Boy and Jonathan. For Donaire, Baguio is just the ideal site for training with its high altitude. “It was Gerry’s idea that I train here. The weather is much the same back home in San Leandro, California,” where his father, Nonito Sr., an ex-military man, brought the nine-year-old Nonito Jr. after the latter spent the first six years of his life in General Santos and from six to nine in Bohol.

The soft-spoken and personable Donaire, sometimes called “The Filipino Flash,” recalls, with deep humility, his childhood with his grandparents who took care of him while his parents established themselves in the States prior to bringing Nonito, two brothers and a sister, to California. Donaire says that, although his family did not live in abject poverty, “We subsisted on dried fish and we could eat meat only on special occasions. My mom, who was a teacher, sold cakes to augment family finances.” In an interview with eastsideboxing.com, Donaire, who speaks Filipino and Cebuano fluently and English with an American accent, said, “But nobody complained. We appreciated what we had. Some people had it a lot worse.”

At 11, Nonito took up boxing, following the footsteps of older (by three years) brother Glenn. “I saw him winning medals in the amateurs and getting some attention and enjoying himself and I said to myself, “Hey, I want some of that too.” Nonito’s amateur record was 68-8 with five TKOs.

Nonito and Glenn had outstanding amateur careers. Nonito won three amateur championships: National Silver Gloves in 1998; National Junior Olympics in 1999; and the National USA Tournament in 2000. He also won the International Junior Olympics in 1999, according to nabfnews.com.

Donaire made it to the US Olympic Trials in 2000 but dropped what some said was a controversial decision to fellow Fil-Am Brian Viloria who became world light flyweight champion. Viloria will be in the undercard of the Donaire-Martinez main event on March 22.

Glenn had also lost to Viloria, also on a controversial decision in the same trials. Glenn’s defeat left a lasting impression on Nonito as he said in the same interview with EastSide Boxing, “When Viloria beat my brother, it totally took me out of my game. I was not there mentally for that fight.”

Next week, Donaire moves on after the initial disappointment.

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Former PSC chairman, Dr. Aparicio Mequi emailed to say that “academicians have no objection if Southwestern University will confer on Manny Pacquiao the honorary title of Doctor of Humanities as (he is a philanthropist) and this favorably falls under CHED guidelines.” CHED Memorandum Order No. 56, S. 2006 does not include grant of an honorary doctorate in Human Kinetics. Not even the University of the Philippines College of Human Kinetics has a doctoral program and it is doubtful if even the UP can award a doctorate in the said field. This should put the issue to rest, once and for all.