The past two weeks leading to the big day—this Saturday, October 22 at the Madison Square Garden no less—have been quite hectic for boxing champ Nonito Donaire but he is not complaining. In fact, he is enjoying every single minute of it.
From the public workouts at the Gleason Gym in Brooklyn, to meeting with Filipino-American high school students in Jersey City to a courtesy call at the Philippine Consulate General in New York. Then, there’s also the media workout and a press conference in between.
For Donaire, the string of events and activities comes with the package, one that he embraces whole-heartedly.
“Grabe. Masaya ako kasi first time ko dito. I finally get a chance to meet and see the people from New York and New Jersey and alam ko maraming Pilipino sa area. It’s a blessing na nandito ako to showcase my talent and boxing and mabigyan ang mga tao ng oportunidad na makakita sila ng champion,” Donaire told the Asian Journal last month, during the first press conference announcing the fight.
As it was his first trip to New York, Donaire was taking it all in. The night before the media event, he and his wife Rachel and a couple of friends went around the city. He was giddy telling stories about the Empire State Building and the busy streets of Manhattan.
“I haven’t slept. We went to the Empire State Building last night and we got back to the hotel around 3:30am and I was up at 6am to prepare today. The city is amazing. I love it here. We were looking for New York cheesecake here in New York but they were out. We had pizza instead,” Donaire shared.
Arum’s point
“Saturday, October 22nd will be a great night of boxing. This phenomenal fighter, Nonito Donaire, is being exposed to the Big Apple, fighting an undefeated fighter,” Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum said in a recent conference call with the media.
Arum began by saying that a lot of people asked him why he was bringing Nonito Donaire to New York at Madison Square Garden and they point out there are over 2M Filipinos that live in the Los Angeles Area.
“I tell them Filipinos live all over the United States. There are about 400,000 Filipinos living in the New York Metropolitan area and besides there are a lot of great fight fans in New York. This is a tremendous fight and we are very thankful to HBO for airing the fight. We are going to sell this place out,” Arum added.
Donaire’s trainer, Robert Garcia, believes in his ward’s strength and power.
“He takes every fight seriously—he takes no fight lightly. He is undefeated and he is two-time champion. He could defend his title a few times at 112. He is going to go out there and prove to everybody he deserves to be where he is at right now and that is a top pound-for-pound fighter,” Garcia said.
Arum shares that belief unconditionally.
“I really believe that Nonito will be a major star in boxing. Everyone that follows boxing knows he is top pound-for-pound but our goal is to make him a superstar. To compare that with Manny missed the point. Manny is a Filipino also but that is the connection,” Arum said, when asked what he sees as the boxer’s potential.
“With Nonito, we have to do it Nonito’s way. Dealing with who he is and what he represents. Nonito is as much American as he is Filipino because he has lived in this country for so long and I think he was candidate for the US Olympic team. Manny spends his life in the Philippines, so there is a difference there. We think that Nonito is such a great exciting fighter and such a pleasing personality that we expect as he rises in weight to 122 and 126 and maybe above that he will become a major superstar in the sport,” Arum added.
Pound-for-Pound
Donaire is on the list of the top pound-for-pound boxers in the world today, sometimes ranking fourth, sometimes fifth.
“It’s crazy being on the list of top pound-for-pound boxers. Wow, my name is there, my name is being talked about. It is quite surreal. I feel that I am worthy of it. It’s amazing,” he said.
Donaire is coming off a tremendous knockout victory over Fernando Montiel, who was considered to be one of the great bantamweights in the world. His February win has been described as “a spectacular and devastating one-punch knockout.”
Arum describes him as “one of the most exciting boxers in the world today and one of the future superstars in the sport.”
The boxer is excited to be in his first New York match.
“To be at Madison Square Garden—the list of fighters who have fought there is historical. It is an honor to be fighting there. It is going to be very exciting and our goal is to get out there and entertain and to show the people where I am. I have watched them all and it is incredible that I will be there and we are going to put our heart and soul and give everything that I’ve got,” Donaire said.
Before Donaire, few Filipinos have made it to the Madison Square Garden to fight—like Ceferino Garcia in the 1930s and 1940s and Flash Elorde in the 1960s.
On Wednesday, Donaire and his team visited the Philippine Center on Fifth Avenue to meet with Consul General Mario de Leon, Jr. and the rest of the officers and staff of the consulate.
“Your impressive track record as a three-division world champion and your reputation as a switch-hitter with the unique ability to fight either southpaw or orthodox have earned you legions of fans here in the United States, the Philippines and in many other parts of the world,” ConGen de Leon said, praising Donaire and calling him an inspiration not only to aspiring boxers in the Philippines but also to Filipino-American athletes in the United States.
National anthems
A few weeks ago, Donaire announced that his camp was accepting auditions to give residents of the Tri State area an opportunity to show their singing talents both nationally and internationally as part of this sporting event by singing the national anthems of both the United States and the Philippines. Hundreds sent in their audition pieces via YouTube.
“Rachel and my friends and people that know music are looking at the videos. They are very critical and patriotic and if someone screws it up they will get criticized pretty badly. It is important that we pick the right person—it is a process my Team Filipino Flash is watching very close and it’s incredible,” he said.
Last Saturday in Brooklyn, his camp announced that two young Filipino-American singers have been chosen to sing. Tiffany Viray and Lianah Santa Ana, both of Freehold, NJ will be singing the Filipino and American anthems, respectively.
“We want to thank all who participated in the search, all of them are just amazing and it was just hard for us to decide,” stated Donaire. “We want to congratulate Tiffany and Lianah here, who did great in their renditions. Both of them are phenomenal, their voice is great and they have national pride.”
Arum and his team at Top Rank is optimistic that boxing lovers in New York will be trooping to the Garden this Saturday to witness great boxers. He also believes that it is high time New York gets more quality boxing matches.
“I am prejudiced. I am a New York guy, born in Brooklyn and lived in Manhattan for most of my life and for me with all due respect to Las Vegas and Los Angeles where the weather is nicer, I still have New York in my bones so it is an honor to me to go back and do a fight in new York,” Arum said.
As to the possibility of Donaire getting fame go to his head?
“Even thought he has lived in the US for many years, Nonito is a Filipino. The mindset of the Filipinos that I’ve met is completely different. They are very, even though they have great courage, they are very humble and they realize that God has provided them with their athletic gifts. So I am not worried one bit by Nonito being spoiled by this attention,” Arum explained.
For now, it is one step at a time for Nonito Donaire. With the full support and backing of Top Rank, his childhood dream is just within reach.
In the meantime, Arum mentioned his grand plans for Donaire.
“Our goal is to make him a superstar,” the legendary boxing promoter said.
[World Bantamweight Champion and Top-Five pound for pound fighter NONITO “The Filipino Flash” DONAIRE (26-1, 18 KOs) makes his New York debut, defending his title against undefeated two-division world champion OMAR “El Huracán” NARVAEZ (35-0-2, 23 KOs), Saturday, October 22, in the Theater at Madison Square Garden, the Mecca of Boxing. Donaire enters this fight riding a nine-year, 25-bout winning streak.
Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Madison Square Garden, the Donaire-Narvaez world title tilt will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark, beginning at 10:30pm ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast.)
Remaining tickets to Donaire vs. Narvaez, priced at $200, $100, $50 and $25, including applicable service charges, can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden box office, online at www.thegarden.com, and all Ticketmaster outlets.
(www.asianjournal.com)
(NYNJ Oct 21-27, 2011 LifeEASTyle pg.2)
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