Promising Filipino fighters, brothers Glenn and Nonito Donaire Jr., have joined great Mexican fighters Juan Manuel Marquez, Erik Morales and other big names in the pro-boxing business in the outfit of Bob Arum of Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Donaires signed a promotional contract with Arum’s Top Rank Incorporated after they inked a management deal with New Mexico’s Cameron Dunkin last Friday in Phoenix.
Dunkin, a front man of Arum, told this writer, who is a pro-boxing judge and sports editor of national daily Bagong Tiktik (Spy) and Manila Times contributor, that the crafty natives of General Santos City will both fight in four to six weeks.
“(They) will stay busy,” said Dunkin, who also manages unbeaten American prospect fighters like super-bantam Jose “Sweet” Aguiniga, super-feather Steven Luevano, middleweight Jesus Ernesto Gonzales, super-middle Kelly Pavlik, and light-fly Austreberto Juarez.
When asked by this writer the details of the contract, Dunkin replied, “They are long term contracts with short and long term plans and goals in mind.”
Dunkin said they have plans to send out a press release to the media today (Monday in the U.S, Tuesday in the Philippines) regarding the matter.
“I had them meet with Bob Arum and they met Mike Tyson who was also at the show (in Luisito Espinosa’s fight against Cristobal Cruz in Stockton). They are both great kids and have championship talent,” he said.
From their current training venue in Castro Valley, California, the Filipino fighters will transfer to Oxnard, according to Dunkin, who finds Glenn and Nonito Jr. as “both great kids and have championship talent”.
Training under father Nonito Sr. aka Dodong since amateur, Nonito and Glenn tried to get closer to a world title shot when they successively captured the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) Asia-Pacific flyweight champion in 2002 after both making a successful short stint in Manila, Philippines in 2001-2003. They both let the regional crown stripped without making a single defense.
Nicknamed “The Filipino Bomber”, Glenn, 25, is currently rated No. 8 in the world by the WBO and No. 37 by the WBC. He has a 13-1 win-loss record with 8 knockouts.
Now fighting in super-flyweight, Nonito, who has a monicker “Flash” in high school but later renamed it by this writer “Filipino Flash”, has 9-1, 6 KO’s.
Aside from Marquez and Morales, whose fight against Manny Pacquiao on March 19 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand is promoted by Top Rank, other fighters under Arum’s wings are reigning WBC lightweight champ Jose Luis Castillo, WBA super-fly boss Martin Castillo, IBF bantam king Rafael Marquez, WBO welter titlist Antonio Margarito, and ex-champs Paulie Ayala, Jesus Chavez, Carlos “Famoso” Hernandez, and Floyd Mayweather.
The Donaires stays in Las Piñas City, Metro Manila when in the Philippines. The Family are originally from General Santos City but migrated to the Bay Area in early 1990s.
“We’re proud to be Filipinos and we want to be known as Filipinos as we fight. That is why we never forget to place a Philippine flag on our trunks,” said Nonito Donaire.
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