Nonito Donaire at the Texas Station in Las Vegas, Nevada (Photo: Chris Robinson – www.HustleBoss.com)
By Chris Robinson
Not much has been heard from former multi-division champion Nonito Donaire following his unanimous decision loss to Guillermo Rigondeaux in April.
Facing off with the slick Cuban inside of the Radio City Music Hall in New York, Donaire had trouble figuring out Rigondeaux’s southpaw style and was a dealt his first defeat in over 12 years.
Having had a successful shoulder surgery weeks later and with his wife Rachel expected to give birth to the couple’s first child any day now, Donaire’s spirits are again upbeat as he eyes a rematch later this year with Armenia’s Vic Darchinyan in an effort to get his career back on track.
“I feel good man,” Donaire told me as we spoke inside of the Texas Station Casino in Las Vegas on Friday night during ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights” telecast.
“That’s the biggest thing right now for me,” Donaire would add, pointing to the upcoming birth of his child. “I think it’s going to motivate me to get that hunger back again. I’m just very excited. I think it’s going to be something that’s going to propel me to something bigger.”
One of the pressing matters for Donaire moving forward was the exact set up of his future training camps.
For the majority of his recent camps, Donaire had trained out of the Undisputed Boxing Gym in Northern California. Donaire has a preference for the facility but one problem he always faces in training at Undisputed is his lack of one-on-one time with his head trainer Robert Garcia, who must also give attention to his core stable of fighters in Oxnard, Calif.
Donaire’s time with Garcia was even more limited than usual during preparation for Rigondeaux, as Garcia was helping Brandon Rios get ready for his March 30 rematch with Mike Alvarado.
Garcia has always mentioned how much he would love to have a full camp with Donaire down in Oxnard, and finally, Donaire seems to be slightly open to that idea.
“I talked with Robert and I talked with [assistant trainer] Brian Schwartz as well,” said Donaire. “We’re looking at whatever works for me. I tried Undisputed and I like it there, I love it there. But then I have talked with Roberto [about giving] him a chance in Oxnard. So, that’s also another option.”
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Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com
Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com