Nonito Donaire and Vic Darchinyan weighing in (Photo: Chris Farina – Top Rank)
By Chris Robinson
Moments before Nonito Donaire’s weigh-in for his rematch with Vic Darchinyan in Corpus Christi, Tex., his father Nonito Donaire Sr. took a few moments to break down the bout.
Having reconnected with his son for this training camp, as they split their time between their home base in Las Vegas and trainer Robert Garcia’s gym in Oxnard, Calif., Donaire Sr. was able to see first-hand just how focused he was coming off of April’s unanimous decision loss to Guillermo Rigondeaux.
“He’s 110% ready for this one,” Donaire Sr. stated exclusively to HustleBoss.com’s Sergio Venegas. “His speed is back, and his power, so it’s a good fight.”
Donaire Sr. was in his son’s corner on the night of July 7, 2007 when he hammered Darchinyan for a 5th round TKO in one the year’s standout performances.
Then 24 years old at the time, Donaire was still new to the sport in several ways, insisted Donaire Sr.
“He’s more mature and he’s smarter than before,” stated Donaire Sr. “When he first fought Darchinyan he was kind of like a kid. Now, he’s more mature.”
Turning his attention to Darchinyan, Donaire Sr. was quick to point out his belief in how far the Armenian bomber has regressed at the age of 37.
“I think he was much better before than right now,” Donaire Sr. expressed. “Because, before it was kind of hard to hit him. Now, you can hit him. When I saw him in his last fight with [Javier] Gallo, he got rocked twice, in the first and the third. But he’s still dangerous.”
If he finds a way to defeat Darchinyan a second time, Donaire will have some solid choices for his next opponent. But when asked about the future, Donaire Sr. seemed disinterested.
“I don’t have no idea about that,” he claimed. “For now, we’re just focusing on this fight.”
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Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com