Donaire honored to be P4P No. 8
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 05/21/2009 12:45 AM
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IBO/IBF flyweight champion Nonito Donaire’s next opponent following his fourth round TKO win over Raul Martinez in April could be WBO super flyweight champion Jose Lopez.
But according to Donaire, “Nothing is certain.”
“The Filipino Flash” told SF Boxing Examiner’s Colin Seymour, “I still haven’t gotten a contract.”
He added, “But the Giants and Top Rank want to make it happen.”
Seymour reported that Top Rank boss Bob Arum wants to hold the Lopez-Donaire fight on Aug. 22 at the AT&T Park in Los Angeles, California.
“Bob Arum told several reporters this month that the hubbub at the Giants’ Filipino Heritage Night on April 27, featuring Manny Pacquiao, made Arum believe the Phil-Am community would support Donaire,” wrote Seymour on Examiner.com.
“Apparently the Giants were impressed, too,” he added.
A lot to prove
The world’s eighth best pound-for-pound boxer, meantime, said of his probable foe, “I’ve never really seen him fight, so I don’t know how he fights.”
Donaire debuted at No.8 in Ring Magazine’s latest pound-for-pound rankings where Pacquiao reigns supreme.
“I was like, wow, really,” Donaire said of his inclusion in the elite list. “I didn’t expect it to be this year, because I still think I have to prove a lot… to prove to myself, to everyone.”
“I was very surprised and I was very honored,” he mentioned.
According to Nigel Collins, editor of The Ring Magazine, “Inactivity had hampered The Ring’s No. 1 flyweight’s entry but his recent KO of previously undefeated Raul Martinez confirmed that his 2007 knockout over Vic Darchinyan was no fluke,” he noted on the Ring website.
Baguio training
Meanwhile, if ever the Aug. 22 fight will be finalized, Donaire said he plans to train in Baguio City.
“I’ll probably go back to the Philippines, because I have a lot of sparring there,” he said, adding that he will fly to the US a month before the fight.
He also disclosed that he would train in the Peninsula and not the Wildcard Gym which he described as “too hectic.” He also noted that training at the Wildcard entails many scheduling requirements.
While in Baguio, Donaire said, “I dictate my own pace and my own time.”
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