Nonito Donaire ‘yet to reach full potential’

Even with all the fame, recognition, accolades and awards, Nonito Donaire Jr. feels he's yet to reach his full potential as a fighter.

The 2012 BWAA fighter of the year has long been one of the hottest names in boxing, an unbeaten streak for twelve years which included winning major world titles in three weight divisions (flyweight, bantamweight and super bantamweight) has placed Donaire in the prestigious RING Magazine's pound-for-pound list.

The spotlight eventually caught up to him however. A lopsided unanimous decision loss against Guillermo Rigondeaux and a near defeat to Vic Darchinyan with a fractured face made him realize that he's still human, vulnerable and can be beaten. Worse, his below average performance in his last fight has removed Donaire from the pound-for-pound list, something he also held on to for years. Even Donaire admits that during his winning ways in the past, he only trained to be just good enough, not pushing his body to the limit.

It took Donaire (32-2, 21KOs) many years to get on top yet it only took two fights to bring him back to earth and realize he has much more to offer. As he attempts to win his fourth major world title on May 31 in Macau, Donaire is pushing himself harder than ever, backed by a formidable team that he believes can bring him to the next level.

"It's mostly physical limitations. Some flexibility issues, some lack of strength in certain muscles in his shoulder, lower back, it's more on muscles right now," says Donaire's new conditioning coach, Nick Curson. "He needs a little bit more of proper training in these areas of the physical side. Some limitations on the back and shoulders are restricting the power he's capable of."

Given all those aspects, it is only the conditioning side of getting to the next level. And to get there, Donaire also has to work on his boxing skills and technique. His father and trainer, Nonito Donaire Sr. has him covered for that.

"What I want to see from him is more speed and movement. Sometimes he gets hit with a jab so I always tell him to keep his distance. Sometimes he can get frustrated with those kind of shots," said Nonito Sr., citing his son's tendency to go "Mexican" or brawl when he gets hit. "He got slower, his hand speed faded so I'm working on getting his hand speed and agility back."

It is easier said than done to step his game up at 31-years-old. His future is at stake in his next fight. He has huge plans and goals in the sport. He is the obvious heir apparent of Manny Pacquiao as soon as the global icon calls it a career. Not ready to leave his rightful place in boxing. Donaire knows too well that he has to dig deep again and rekindle his passion for training.

"I didn't train hard enough. When I train, if I know that it was good enough, I didn't go beyond that and I know that I can go beyond that. My performance suffered. I got lazy. I didn't push hard enough because of the fact that I can knock guys out with one punch. I know that if I change my mentality and push further, I'll reach that [full] potential,” said Donaire. - AMD, GMA News



JM Siasat is a boxing journalist based in Manila, Philippines. He can be reached at jmsiasat@ymail.com