Nonito Donaire getting inspiration, motivation from two other world-class Bay Area fi

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Nonito Donaire getting inspiration, motivation from two other world-class Bay Area fighters3 hours ago


Boxing may be the farthest thing from a team sport that exists, but Nonito Donaire concedes he owes much of his extraordinary success in the sport to his home team.

Donaire, the IBF/WBO super bantamweight champion, is one of three elite boxers from California's Bay Area, all of whom push each other to greater heights.
http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/Gj4oKs9T.GZ6vmh1JB3EeQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTMxMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2012-08-27T220123Z_2037252412_GM1E88S0FZG01_RTRMADP_3_BOXI NG.JPGNonito Donaire (L) takes on Toshiaki Nishioka on Saturday in Carson, Calif. (Reuters)
He's won 28 fights in a row and hasn't lost in more than 11 years, when he was just 18 years old and in his second professional fight. At worst, Donaire is one of the 10 best fighters in the world and there are several respected analysts who believe he is the finest.
He has a rare combination of speed, power, accuracy and ring smarts.
For all his accolades, though, Donaire isn't even sure he's the top fighter in his home region. That's because his region includes WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward and interim WBC welterweight champion Robert Guerrero.
Combined, the threesome has a record of 87-2-1 with 50 knockouts and an abiding respect for each other. Much of his success, Donaire says, comes from learning and being pushed by Guerrero and Ward.
"They're an inspiration for me," says Donaire, who fights for his sixth consecutive world championship on Saturday when he meets Toshiaki Nishioka in the main event of an HBO-televised doubleheader from the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.


Each of them utters the same words about the others, pointing out that having other elite fighters in the same region pushes them to be better.
When Ward was in training to prepare for his Sept. 8 showdown with Chad (http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/london-2012/chad/) Dawson in Oakland, Calif., Guerrero was fighting Selcuk Aydin for the interim WBC welterweight belt.
Ward said watching the way Guerrero handled his business inspired him.
"I saw the way he dealt with the adversity he was facing and the confidence he exuded, and that definitely played a role in helping me," Ward said. "Robert was fighting a big guy and he had some tough moments, but he battled and fought. That inspired me, because I knew I was going to have some tough moments against Dawson."
In what is so far a career-defining performance, Ward dominated Dawson and stopped him in the 10th round. It was a comprehensive and thorough win that didn't escape Donaire's notice.
"Watching Andre, that made me realize that's how I fight and that I needed to go back to the roots of who I am and how I fight," Donaire said. "Robert is a guy who just trains so hard and who so desperately wants to be the best. He looks at boxing as a warrior sport and he's really an inspiration to me.
"I want to ride the different levels like he's doing now. Both of them have a big influence on who I am."
The common thread between them is a refusal to settle for second best. Even when Donaire became widely recognized for being among the elite, he was always looking for ways to take his game to the next level.
http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/GKbX0I18OmMyQa6vmD53aw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTMxMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_US/Sports/Getty_Images/201209082316838095829-p2.jpegAndre Ward celebrates after beating Chad Dawson in a super middleweight title fight in Sept. (Getty)
Neither Ward nor Guerrero would accept just a win – both strive for something far more than victory. No analyst is harsher on them than they are on themselves. That leads to a lot of good performances, Donaire said, because it does away with complacency.
A baseball player whose success leads to complacency could wind up on the bench or, in extreme cases, shipped out to the minors. But a world-class boxer who suffers from complacency usually winds up on his back with smelling salts under his nose.
The better a fighter becomes and the more notoriety he gains, the bigger a target he is and the harder it is to remain at the top.
"Having those guys around ensures I won't ever get complacent," Donaire said. "They're always around to remind you who you are and what it takes."


Despite their great success, they've formed a sort of fraternity of underdogs. Guerrero pointed out that the Bay Area isn't a hotbed for boxing activity, despite their presence, and that they compete against established franchises like the San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders, San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics, Golden State Warriors and the San Jose Sharks for attention.
Guerrero said that in a way, he, Donaire and Ward form the Bay Area's seventh pro franchise.
"We're from a place that isn't regarded as a real hot boxing area, and you can't just find a gym on every corner like you could in Las Vegas or New York, where there are world class guys working out all over the place," Guerrero said. "We feed off of each other. We all understand how difficult it is to succeed in this sport and to compete at the level we're at.
"It helps to have guys like them around who know what it takes and who understand what we go through as fighters. What you see is that at the end of the day, we all push each other and help each other and it makes us better and more complete fighters."

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Good post Blackdog

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Donaire a VADA test case for boxing October, 8, 2012 Oct 8
4:32
PM ET

By Brian Campbell | ESPN.com





As junior featherweight champion Nonito Donaire prepares for his Oct. 13 title defense against Toshiaki Nishioka, he's well aware of the reality of his situation.

At any hour of any given day, Donaire is one knock on the door away from being subject to mandatory drug testing -- and he wouldn't have it any other way.

This is how Donaire, the first fighter to agree to random blood and urine testing -- 24 hours a day, 365 days a year -- by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA), envisions the day-to-day existence for all fighters, whether inside of training camp or not. It's the Filipino fighter's way of giving back to a sport that has been so good to him, by progressively getting out in front of something he believes in.

"I love this sport of boxing; it's something that has provided me all of the blessings that I have in life," Donaire told ESPN.com. "It's the least that I can do for myself, my fans and for the sport. To me, it's just a normal thing because I really don't have anything to hide in terms of my ability. I'm proud of where I am at because of my natural talent and hard work."

After confirming verbally through the door that Donaire was present, Hunter entered the room and began administering the test.

"The first thing that they'll do is have you unwrap all of the things that they have, so you open it yourself," Donaire said.

After giving blood, Donaire watched as Hunter filled four separate tubes with the samples. Donaire then securely fastened the tubes inside their respective clear bottles, added a label with the matching serial number that appears on the bottle, and placed them inside a clear bag to secure it.

Donaire then provided a urine sample, which was separated into two bottles, marked samples "A" and "B."

The test was Donaire's second since his June announcement to begin testing, with the first coming Aug. 22 under similar circumstances. After testing agents missed Donaire at the gym, they surprised him with a knock on the door of his hotel. The only difference this time was the amount of blood taken (two tubes on the first test; four on the second).

"You have to tell them anywhere, anytime where you are going to be at," Donaire said. "So if I am going to the Philippines, you have to give them the date, location and if you are going anywhere else. You have to let them know, and they will have people come out there randomly."

Donaire's most recent test left him weak during training, something he attributes more to not having eaten beforehand and the fact that he had a rough night of sleep the night before.

Regardless, Donaire says there isn't a potential scenario concerning the hassles of random testing that he hasn't thought of or isn't able to handle. That includes a test the day before a fight, although he hopes it doesn't happen.

"I don't think they do that, but if they do, it doesn't matter to me because I'm just so used to it," Donaire said. "I think a lot of it is all mental. It's how your mind works and how strong you are mentally. It wouldn't bother me."

Donaire admits he hasn't talked to any fighters about agreeing to similar year-round random testing, but he'd like the opportunity to educate them if approached.

"I'm hoping others will want to," Donaire said. "It's a difficult thing and an extra hassle for their body and time. There's a lot of certain aspects that could make them shy away. But I'm hoping that I can encourage them to do it for the sport of boxing and for their fans."

The willingness of Donaire to undergo such stringent testing is as refreshing as it is unprecedented. He has taken the noble blueprint laid out by Floyd Mayweather Jr. -- who has insisted on random testing for opponents and himself during training camp -- to the next level.

The reaction has been positive, albeit meager, in a sport that isn't lacking for negative headlines about the illegal use of performance-enhancing drugs. The implications in boxing -- where the lasting effects of PEDs pose as much (or more) danger to a user's opponent as they do to himself -- dwarf the sort that merely inflate home run records.

There just might come a day when Donaire's new reality is simply standard operating procedure, a day when we'll remember fighters like him and Mayweather for being pioneers for safety as much as we will for titles held in an already brutal sport.

It's a day that boxing needs.