Donaire to wear pink on fight night to show support for breast cancer awareness

They say that it takes a real man to wear pink, and world bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire Jr. wants to prove he's as manly as it gets. The 28-year-old Donaire will wear pink and black trunks and robe for his October 22 title defense against undefeated Argentine champ Omar Narvaez at Madison Square Garden's WaMu Theater in New York City. Donaire of San Leandro, California by way of Talibon, Bohol, Philippines will be wearing the unique color combination to show his support to the Keep-A-Beast Foundation, a non-profit organization aimed at raising awareness of breast cancer and its treatment. In addition to being the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, October is also recognized as Filipino-American History Month. However, it is not only Donaire who has a passion to support breast cancer awareness since his wife Rachel is also doing her part. Rachel Donaire will have a cast made of her breasts as her part of supporting the nonprofit organization Keep-A-Breast. The cast will then be painted and auctioned off, with proceeds going to benefit the breast cancer research program. "If you've seen one of those Keep-A-Breast ads, it's really artistic. I looked at it," said Donaire, the fourth-ranked pound-for-pound boxer by The Ring Magazine. The idea to support breast cancer came to Donaire (26-1, 18 knockouts) from Ernest Gabion, a California-based Filipino-American who works for boxing equipment manufacturer Everlast. Donaire said he wanted to make a statement in his first professional bout in The Big Apple. "Donaire approached us—he told us that he had planned on dedicating his fight to a breast cancer non-profit (organization) since his fight was in October and that Keep-A-Breast resonated with him," said Kimmy McAtee, Keep-A-Breast's spokesperson. Donaire said that no one in his immediate family has suffered from breast cancer, but he has had family friends who struggled with the illness that affects 1 in 8 US women during their lifetime, according to BreastCancer.org. Breast cancer is the second type of cancer that kill US women, behind lung cancer. Donaire is the first professional boxer to represent Keep-A-Breast. "The overall goal is to make people think about [breast cancer] in an unlikely place," said McAtee. "No one is tuning in during the fight to think about the fight against breast cancer. And when Donaire comes out sporting a pink-themed outfit with logos from Keep-A-Breast it will get his fans thinking. They might visit the site, learn that in many cases you can lower your risk of cancer through healthy habits, exercise, lessening your exposure to toxins and perhaps save their life." Among other celebrities to publicly support the organization are pop artists Katy Perry, Pink, Maya Ford of the Donnas, as well as skateboarder Bam Margera and numerous other pro skaterboarders and surfers. "For me really, it's important to put out awareness for young women in general. To be aware to have a healthy lifestyle," said Donaire. "We took that opportunity and we're willing to work with them. It's an honor for me to represent them, and I want to represent them in the right way." The fight will be aired in America on HBO. Ryan Songalia is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and contributes to GMA News and the Filipino Reporter newspaper in New York City. He can be reached at ryan@ryansongalia.com. An archive of his work can be found at www.ryansongalia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @RyanSongalia.