Donaire ready for Vegas war

MANILA, Philippines - Defending interim WBA superflyweight champion Nonito Donaire Jr. said yesterday he’s ready to go to war against Mexican challenger Gerson Guerrero in their 12-round bout headlining Top Rank’s “Latin Fury 13/Pinoy Power 3” sequel at the Hilton in Las Vegas on Feb. 13.

Doniare, 27, relinquished his IBF flyweight throne to annex the interim WBA 115-pound crown at Panamanian Rafael Concepcion’s expense last year and is gearing for a shot at a second world title. He realizes holding an interim championship is only a stepping stone but his immediate concern is to dispose of Guerrero, considered a dangerous foe with a 34-8 record, including 26 KOs – 65 percent of which came inside three rounds.

Guerrero, 32, is an experienced veteran who once knocked out former WBO lightflyweight titleholder Hugo Cazares. He’s coming off a 10th round stoppage of Enrique Quevedo for the vacant North American Boxing Federation superflyweight crown in a WBC title eliminator in Mexico City last June.

What makes Guerrero even more dangerous is his resiliency. Early last year, he survived a knockdown in the first round to halt Darwin Zamora in the second. He has lost to champions Daniel Ponce de Leon, Cristian Mijares and Maurico Pastrana but came back to remain a strong contender for the world title. Guerrero, who turned pro in 1995 – six years before Donaire’s debut, is ranked No. 3 by the WBC and No. 10 by the WBA.

“I’ve never underestimated anyone,” said Donaire in an e-mail to The Star from his San Mateo home in northern California. “Look at the odds against me when I fought Concepcion. No one thought he’d come in that much overweight but still I didn’t care. That weight made him a larger ‘bull’ for me to take down. Guerrero has everything to take from me and I know he’ll come to the ring fully prepared. He’s a tough opponent.”

Donaire logged over 90 rounds of sparring in training for Guerrero. He brought in sparmates Eric Manriquez from Texas and Randy Caballero from Palm Springs.

“Both have a lot of energy and different styles,” said Donaire. “They really made me think and be aware of what’s going on in the ring. I sparred with them for the last time at the Undisputed Gym in San Carlos City last Friday. I plan to get four or five more rounds of sparring in Vegas just to maintain. They’ve been around since Jan. 3 and we’ve sparred every other day. I’m now about 125 pounds so I should be fine.”

Donaire said he noticed that promoter Gary Shaw has started talking to the press about the possibility of a rematch with WBA and WBC superflyweight champion Vic Darchinyan whom he knocked out for the IBF flyweight diadem in 2007.

“I’m not looking past Guerrero,” said Donaire. “I’ve heard talks about a rematch. But I’ve heard that for two years now. After Guerrero, anything can happen. They just have to talk to my manager Cameron (Dunkin) and get everything straightened out. I’m ready for whomever Cameron puts in front of me.”

Darchinyan, 34, is slated to stake his WBC and WBA belts against Mexico’s Rodrigo Guerrero in Rancho Mirage, California, on March 6.

Donaire said he can’t wait to get rid of Guerrero.

“My entire camp was sitting in front of the TV watching Juanma Lopez, Steven Luevano and Yuriorkis Gamboa last week,” said Donaire. “I was really excited and watching these guys go at it – it just makes me wish my fight day was tomorrow. Man, I’d be honored to fight any of those featherweights. But first things first. I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do on Feb. 13, get more titles and move up. I’m sure the day will come when we’ll all meet in the ring.”

Lopez stopped Luevano in the seventh round to wrest the WBO featherweight crown at Madison Square Garden in New York City last Jan. 23. Gamboa knocked out Rogers Mtagwa to retain his WBA featherweight title in the undercard.

Four other Filipinos are fighting in the card at the Hilton, which hosted its first pro boxing card featuring Sonny Liston in the main event and George Foreman in the undercard in 1969. The Las Vegas Hilton was also the venue where Leon Spinks upset Muhammad Ali in a Top Rank promotion in 1978.