MANILA, Philippines - WBC/WBO bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire Jr. is out to make a strong statement in his fight against unbeaten Omar Narvaez of Argentina at the WaMu Theater of Madison Square Garden in New York City this Saturday night (Sunday morning, Manila) and trainer Robert Garcia assured that he will be explosive in defending his twin titles.
“If Nonito sees the opening, he’ll take him out in one round,” said Garcia. “But he’s ready to go 12 rounds if necessary. He’s a very smart fighter. He’ll pick his punches. He’ll study his opponent and figure out what to do. If it takes five, six or seven rounds to break him down, that’s how long the fight will go. It’s a very important fight for Nonito. He’ll try to be as explosive as he can be. We know Narvaez is a tough and strong fighter. Nonito’s prepared to do what it takes to win.”
Garcia, who also trains WBA lightweight champion Brandon Rios and comebacking former WBA/IBF/WBO welterweight titlist Antonio Margarito, said Narvaez could be Donaire’s toughest foe ever. “He’s undefeated,” said Garcia. “He’s a two-time world champion (flyweight and superflyweight) moving up in weight. He defended his (flyweight) title 16 times. He doesn’t know how to lose. He’s got lots of experience. He’s a southpaw. From what I’ve seen on film, he likes to start slow. He breaks down his opponent little by little and tries to finish off late.”
Because Narvaez is left-handed, Garcia said Donaire had to make slight adjustments in training camp. “The only difference in training camp was we’ve had to adjust to fighting against a southpaw, even in the way we did mitts,” said Garcia. “Everything else, we did the same. Nonito had a great camp. The staff did a very good job. Mike (Bazzel) is his strength and conditioning coach while Remi (Korchemny) is his sprint coach. He got plenty of sparring against young, fast fighters with the same style as Narvaez. We brought in guys from Colorado, California and other places.”
Making the 118-pound limit shouldn’t be a problem for Donaire, said Garcia. “I don’t think there’ll be a problem at the weigh-in,” said Garcia. “Of course, the last four or five pounds are the hardest to lose. But even Nonito himself told me he’s surprised at the way he’s handled his weight. He’s eating well and taking in liquids. The day before the weigh-in is when he stops the liquids and restricts his eating.”
Garcia said fighting in New York City will be a new and exciting experience for Donaire. “He’s gotten a lot of attention from media in the city,” said Garcia. “This is a huge fight for Nonito. Everybody’s very excited about his debut in New York City. But you know, for him, this is still just another fight. He’s getting married on Nov. 11 and that’s totally important to him just as this fight is. I don’t think the wedding is putting added pressure on Nonito to win. He’s too level-headed to be affected in that way. I’ve gotten my wedding invitation and I really regret not being able to go. The day after Nonito’s fight, I fly out to join Brandon and Margarito in training camp. They’re fighting separate opponents on Dec. 3 at Madison Square Garden. Right now, Brandon is in California and Margarito in Mexico so they’re not able to cheer for Nonito at ringside.”
Narvaez, who represented Argentina at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, reigned as WBO flyweight champion from 2002 to 2009, repulsing 16 challengers. Then, he annexed the WBO superflyweight title, turning back three challengers before moving to the bantamweight ranks. In 2006, he outclassed Filipino challenger Rexon Flores and won a lopsided decision on scores of 120-108, 119-109 and 119-109. Two of his other victims were former Olympic gold medalist Brahim Asloum of France and Colombia’s Carlos Tamara who stopped Brian Viloria for the IBF lightflyweight title at the Cuneta Astrodome last year. Narvaez, 36, has never fought in the US – all his fights were in Argentina except for three in France, two in Italy and one in Spain.
“I know I’m the underdog in this fight,” said Narvaez quoted in fightnews.com. “This is the kind of fight that I want to be in because this will bring out the best in me. It would have been nice if we could have fought when we both were world champions at 112 pounds but that is not the case. Everyone is going to find out that I, too, am fast and strong as well. I’m going to surprise a lot of people. I’m coming to bring those titles back to Argentina.”
Narvaez’ record is 35-0-2, with 19 KOs. His last five fights went the distance, indicating that at his age, he may be slowing down. The heaviest he has weighed in for a fight was at 116 3/4 in outpointing Santiago Acosta last year. Donaire was at his heaviest, 119 3/4, in knocking out Paulino Villalobos in San Jose in 2005. He has stopped his last four opponents, nine of his last 10, in raising his record to 26-1, with 18 KOs.