WITH most Filipino boxers lying in the shadows of the great eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao, the choice of the title “It’s About Time” for the World Boxing Council super bantamweight showdown between five-division world champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire and No. 4-ranked former Hungarian Olympian Zsolt Bedak strikes us as being most appropriate especially with the announced retirement of the 37-year-old Pacquiao.
While there are those who still believe Pacquiao has it in him to continue fighting based on his lopsided victory in his third fight with Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley, and hangers-on, who pander to him in the hope they can continue to benefit from his kind-hearted ways should he continue his career, there are others who believe it’s time for him to keep his word and hang up his gloves because that’s what his charming wife Jinkee, his mother Dionisia and his five kids want so they could have more time together.
The other aspect of the pressure for Pacquiao to retire is the fact that based on all the recent surveys, he stands a good chance of winning a seat in the senatorial elections in May and a nationwide constituency is certain to demand his attention and full time, unlike when he won the lone seat in the House of Representatives from the province of Sarangani, where he came under fire for attending only four sessions in Congress.
It’s obvious he cannot follow the same routine in the Senate, which is a far more demanding task.
Beyond, it’s about time that other promising young fighters on the threshold of world championships are given a chance to shine and receive all the attention and support from sponsors and television networks that Pacquiao basked in during his career since he won his first world title beating Thai hero Chatchai Sasakul to grab the World Boxing Council flyweight title with a spectacular eighth-round knockout on Dec. 3, 1998, on the outskirts of the Thai capital of Bangkok.
While five-division world champion Nonito Donaire has never aspired to be “the next Manny Pacquiao” and has always insisted he wants to be known as the first Nonito Donaire, even at the age of 33, he appears destined to anchor the roster of potential Filipino world champions, believing “It’s About Time.”
Pacquiao has a certain aura about him and his charisma is undeniable. But Donaire has his own particular charm and overall manner that endears him to fans both in the Philippines and in the United States, where he spent many of his youthful years.
Like Manny, Donaire is a fine singer and handles Visayan songs with an emotional touch. Besides, he can dance and knows what it’s like to be an entertainer as evidenced by his recent guest appearance on the top-rated ABS-CBN noontime show “Showtime.”
He had arrived early that morning from Los Angeles with wife Rachel and two sons, but he still found the unbridled energy and enthusiasm to perform on “Showtime” and then to be special guest at a press conference at the Executive Dining Room of the network.
It was there that Donaire showed his prowess at answering questions and providing a riveting insight into himself and the sport of boxing.
His ability to articulate his thoughts and string together sentences that sparked the imagination made an impact on the hard-nosed media people present at the press conference.
His words reflected his likable personality and his sound reasoning which, in effect, highlighted his innate ability.
Recent winner of the prestigious Philippine Sportswriters Association’s “Athlete of the Year” award, along with WBO light flyweight king and the longest-reigning Filipino world champion Donnie Nietes and young golfing ace Miguel Tabuena, Donaire realized that his lopsided unanimous decision win over Mexico’s No. 1-ranked Cesar Juarez, whom he dropped twice in the fourth round before the second half of the fight for the vacant title, turned into a brutal affair.
Donaire himself described it as “a helluva fight,” conceding that he was “grateful for what I went through.”
While he admitted he lost many fans after the crushing sixth-round stoppage against the much bigger and stronger Nicholas “Axe Man” Walters after he moved up to featherweight, Donaire rode the fact that after the Juarez fight, fans embraced him once again.
“Fans will know that I will always fight as a courageous Filipino, who will bring pride to our country and I’m not gonna quit no matter what,” he said.
In his first title defense of the 122-pound crown the second time around, Donaire will face world No. 4-ranked former Hungarian Olympian Zsolt Bedak, who whipped Abner Mares in the 2004 Athens Olympics. Mares turned pro and went on to become a world champion, whom Donaire had wanted to fight, but which never materialized.
“He’s (Bedak) got pretty decent power, but he’s more of a technical fighter than anything and one who looks to win on points, but we won’t allow this. We know what we have to do,” said Donaire, never underestimating his foe.
Bedak is a capable fighter and tough as evidenced in his only loss in a world title fight to Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., when he suffered a broken jaw in Round 2, but fought gallantly until Round 10 when the referee stopped the bout.
Donaire regards Bedak as “a tough guy, a capable guy,” but said he has faith that with his dad, Dodong Donaire, who is his trainer, they’ll come up with “the best game plan.”
When discussing his lethal left hook and his obvious advantage in power, Donaire quickly conceded that “power is sometimes not enough to beat a guy who moves around. It’s a matter of having the best, most intelligent game-plan and when we follow the game-plan we can beat anybody.”
Donaire, who sometimes in the past slacked off in training, has continued to work hard in the sweltering heat and sparred at the “In This Corner” and “Bebot” Elorde Gyms in Paranaque in the stifling conditions because he is grimly determined to provide a hometown crowd at the Cebu Sports Center a performance to remember.
“I will be 100 percent ready for this fight. No excuses,” Donaire said.
Donaire and his dad both indicated they would go for a knockout in every round because he is “looking for people to see my potential,” admitting that he learned a lot in 2015 when he gave only 70 percent.
“I am dead set on going beyond that. Sometimes when you feel that you have given everything and when your body is too tired, a little push every time will prove to be better,” Donaire said.
On Saturday he vowed: “We are coming out with all the weapons. We are going to bring it out.”
“Because to the five-division world champion, Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire, certainly “It’s About Time!”