"The Filipino Flash"  

• Twitter: @FilipinoFlash  Facebook.com/nonitodonaire
• BWAA, ESPN, Yahoo “2012 Fighter of the Year”
• World championship fights: 10-1, 7 KOs...
• WBO jr. featherweight world champion, three successful defenses…
• WBC Diamond Belt super bantamweight champion…
• Former IBF jr. featherweight world champion…
• Former WBC bantamweight world champion, one successul defense…
• Former WBO bantamweight world champion, one successul defense…
• Former IBF flyweight world champion, three successful defenses...
• Former WBA interim super flyweight world champion, one successful defense…
• Interim world championship fights: 2-0, 1 KO…
• Former NABF super flyweight champion...
• The Ring “2007 Knockout of the Year” – Donaire KO5 Darchinyan...
• The Ring “2007 Upset of the Year” – Donaire KO5 Darchinyan...
• 2000 U.S. National Championships (amateur), 106 pounds – Gold Medalist...
• 2000 National Junior Olympic Championships (amateur), 106 pounds – Gold Medalist...
• 1999 Junior Olympic International Championships (amateur), 106 pounds – Gold Medalist...

At the age of 30, Nonito is an 11-year pro. The former WBO and former IBF junior featherweight world champion, he is one of boxing’s rising young superstars, already considered by many observers to be one of the top fighters at any weight in the ring today - one of the best “Pound for Pound.”

Nonito was named “Fighter of the Year” by the Boxing Writers Association of America, ESPN.com., and Yahoo.

Dan Rafael wrote on ESPN.com [excerpts]: Nonito Donaire..had a year for the ages.

Donaire began the year having vacated his bantamweight belts and preparing to move up to junior featherweight. Four fights later, in an exceptionally busy year by modern standards for an elite champion, the quick-fisted and powerful Donaire stands atop the 122-pound division and was the easy pick for 2012 ESPN.com Boxer of the Year.

Donaire easily handled the move up in weight, winning all four of his fights in dominant fashion. He dropped each of his foes - scoring seven knockdowns in all - won twice by knockout and collected two world titles.

Add to that his trailblazing approach to drug testing: He is the only fighter in the world who has signed on with the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association for random urine and blood testing 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. This in an era when every great performance unfortunately comes under the suspicion of possible performance-enhancing drug use - except, of course, Donaire's. [End Rafael item]

Nonito has held world titles in three weight divisions, and an interim world title in a fourth. Nonito is also a former WBC and WBO bantamweight world champion – he won those titles in February, 2011, but vacated them to move up in weight.

Nonito has also held the WBA interim super flyweight world title - he won that title in August, 2009 – and is a former IBF flyweight world champion, as well. Nonito won the IBF title in July, 2007, and made three successful title defenses. He vacated both titles to move up in weight.

He has fought world champions in his last eight fights and is 8-0, 5 KOs, in those fights. He has fought 10 world champions altogether, and is 10-0, 7 KOs in those fights.

In his last fight on December 15, he knocked out former WBO jr. featherweight, WBO jr. bantamweight, and WBC-WBO light flyweight world champion Jorge Arce.

After the fight, Dan Rafael wrote on ESPN.com [excerpts]: Donaire has had a great year, which he finished off in style to likely lock up fighter of the year honors. Not only has Donaire dominated four quality opponents in four world title bouts, but he did it by removing any notion of doping, which - as in most sports - has become a major problem in boxing. Donaire is the only fighter in the world who has agreed to be randomly drug tested (urine and blood) 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year whether he is training for a fight or not. It's an admirable position that other fighters would do well to emulate. So when Donaire thrashes good opponents, nobody has to suspect something is amiss.

In front of a crowd of 7,250 at the Toyota Center, Donaire won his most dominant fight of the year by erasing Arce in three lopsided rounds.

Donaire scored three knockdowns total, including one in the second round on a right-left combination, and two more in the third round, on a right hand-left uppercut combination and then a crushing left hook to the chin that knocked Arce out. Referee Laurence Cole had no need to count and called off the fight at 2 minutes, 59 seconds…. It was a sensational knockout, on par with Donaire's blistering second-round knockout of Fernando Montiel to win two bantamweight titles in the 2011 knockout of the year.

Donaire was the superior man in terms of speed, technique and power. Although Arce showed his usual big heart, he had no way of getting inside against the longer Donaire, who can fight inside or outside and is very fast with his punches.

Donaire - one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world…. [End Rafael item]

From BoxingScene.com, by Ryan Maquiñana [Sept. 19, 2012 - excerpts]: Unified junior featherweight champion Nonito Donaire, who has submitted to year-round random drug testing administered by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, received confirmation from VADA Tuesday stating that all of his results so far have come up negative.

Excerpt from the correspondence: “VADA has conducted tests which include, but are not limited to, the Anabolic Steroids panel, Carbon Isotope Ratio (CIR/IRMS) tests for the presence of exogenous testosterone, and analyses to determine erythropoietin (EPO) and human growth hormone (hGH) administration. Although further analyses may be conducted on previous or future specimens, I can confirm that all results to date are negative.”

In June, Donaire made history by becoming the first fighter to comply with such a program in light of the recent scandals that have rocked the sport. [End Maquinana item]

From ring.tv, by Lem Satterfield [Aug. 25, 2012 - excerpts]: Nonito Donaire recently completed a month-long stint in his native Philippines filming of the movie Palad Ta Ang Nagbuot during which he portrays a poor young man who is driven by his love for a woman.

The film, which roughly translates into "Fate Will Decide," or, "Our Fate Decides," is a remake of a 1960s movie starring Flash Elorde, a legendary Filipino boxer who preceeded Manny Pacquiao as a hero.

"Nonito is the main character and star of the independent movie. The movie will be in Visayan, Nonito's dialect from the Philippines, but will be subtitled in English," said Gilbert Martinez, Donaire's business officer, of a movie that was shot from late July through early August in the Philippines.

"The movie is about an underprivileged young man trying to make ends meet and gets inspired to find a steady career to provide for his love interest. When tragedy hits the main character, Nonito finds any way to save his love interest."

Donaire offers his own interpretation of the drama.

"The gist of the movie is that it's about this man who is really poor, and he's a jack of all trades, so he goes from working one job to another in the market place and stuff like that. He's trying to be the best person that he can be, and he's trying to make the girl his girl," said Donaire.

"But he's going to need money to save someone's life, and he's willing to do anything for the cause. It's what people go through in life. There are a lot of people in the Philippines who have to endure this kind of life. There's going to be drama and excitement and some comedy, but the whole thing is about having faith." [End Satterfield item]

Nonito won the IBF flyweight world title in July, 2007, with a spectacular and devastating one-punch knockout against previously undefeated defending champion Vic Darchinyan. The fight won The Ring’s annual awards for “2007 Knockout of the Year” and “2007 Upset of the Year.”

Nonito is experienced against top opposition, and has fought world champions Jorge Arce (KO3), Toshiaki Nishioka (TKO9), Jeffrey Mathebula (W12), Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. (W12), Omar Narvaez (W12), Fernando Montiel (TKO2), Wladimir Sidorenko (KO4), Hernan Marquez (TKO8), Moruti Mthalane (TKO6), and Vic Darchinyan (TKO5).

Nonito had an impressive amateur career, as well, that included wins against Ron Siler, who made the 2004 U.S. Olympic team, current super flyweight contender Raul Martinez, and current pro junior middleweight contender James Kirkland.

Regarding his nickname, Nonito said, “I got my name because I was pretty fast. Like in the gym, I was a lot faster than my brother or other fighters. They started calling me that around my fourth, fifth fight.”

Fight by Fight – 2012 – 3^RD WBO JF WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - in his last fight on 12-15-12 in Houston, TX, he knocked out former WBO jr. featherweight, WBO jr. bantamweight, and WBC-WBO light flyweight world champion Jorge Arce (61-6-2): the fight headlined at the Toyota Center, and Nonito quickly overpowered him; he scored a knockdown with a right hand-left hook combination in the 2^nd round; he scored two more knockdowns in the 3^rd - the first with a right hand-left uppercut combination, the second with a left hook - and the referee stopped the fight without a count at 2:59; after the fight, Nonito said, "I have a lot of respect for Mexico. I hope I made the Philippines proud tonight. I pretty much timed Arce. I knew he would open up. He hurt me a little. I needed to figure out the distance to get him to open up. My left hand is not completely healed. I asked the doctor about my hand and he said it's not going to be 100 percent, but that I could fight if I was comfortable. Tonight it didn't bleed, but I was kind of worried about it. I was a lot faster than Arce. He knew I was a powerful fighter. He knew every mistake he would make would be a tremendous mistake, but Arce is a great fighter. It was difficult for me to get him in the beginning because he was wary of the left hook and he was ducking out of the way. The reason why people survive with me is because they are afraid to open up. I have a lot of respect for him - he wasn't afraid. He was aiming to surprise me. But when I can throw sitting down on that left hook, everyone will go down."...

WON VACANT WBC SB DIAMOND BELT, 2^ND WBO JF WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 10-13-12 in Carson, CA, he TKOd lefthanded former WBC super bantamweight world champion Toshiaki Nishioka (39-4-3): the fight headlined at the Home Depot Center, and Nonito dominated; he pressed forward and kept a steady pace, and Nishioka was extremely cautious; Nonito scored a knockdown with a left uppercut in the 6^th round, and Nishioka became more aggressive after that and won the 8^th on two scorecards, the only round he won; Nonito scored a knockdown with a right hand in the 9^th round – Nishioka got up, but Nonito rocked him with a left uppercut and the referee stopped the fight at 1:54; after eight rounds, Nonito led by scored of 79-72, 79-72, 80-71; after the fight, Nonito said, "Nishioka was a great fighter and we were wary, but if he made the mistake, we could get him - and we did. My left hand was hurt in the middle of the fight and I needed a different strategy, and I got him with the right. This is my biggest win. I've never beaten anyone like this. He has a lot of weapons."...

1^ST WBO JF WORLD TITLE DEFENSE, WON IBF JF WORLD TITLE - on 7-7-12 in Carson he won a 12 round unanimous decision in a title unification bout against 5’11” tall IBF world champion Jeffrey Mathebula (26-3-2): the bout headlined at the Home Depot Center; Mathebula gave a strong effort and kept a busy pace, but Nonito consistently landed the harder punches and dominated most of the fight; Nonito scored a knockdown with a left hook that left Mathebula dazed and bloodied his nose late in the 4^th round; Nonito rocked Mathebula with another left hook that broke one of his teeth in the 11^th, and Mathebula was spitting blood in his corner after the round. scored 118-109, 119-108, 117-110; after the fight, Nonito said, "My goal is to be a unified champion. I want to unify all of the belts at 122."; after returning to his native South Africa, Mathebula underwent surgery for a broken jaw…

WON VACANT WBO JF WORLD TITLE - on 2-4-12 in San Antonio, TX, he won a 12 round split decision against former WBO jr. featherweight world champion Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. (21-1-1): the fight was co-featured with the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.-Marco Antonio Rubio main event; Vazquez gave a strong effort, but Nonito dominated most of the fight; he hurt his left hand early in the fight, but still staggered Vazquez with a left hook in the 3^rd round, generally outboxed him, and landed the sharper punches; Nonito scored a knockdown with a left hook in the 9^th, and won by scores of 117-110, 117-110 Donaire, 115-112 Vazquez; after the fight, Nonito said, “Vazquez was tougher than I expected. I couldn’t find my rhythm and I hurt my hand somewhere between the second and fourth rounds. I could only move it a little bit. When I knocked him down in the ninth round, that was the end of the hand. I was in agony. I’m definitely staying at 122 for awhile. We will go back to the drawing board.”…

2011 – 1^ST WBC, WBO B WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 10-22-11 in New York, NY, he won a 12 round unanimous decision against previously undefeated lefthanded WBO jr. bantamweight world champion Omar Narvaez (35-0-2): the fight headlined in The Theater at Madison Square Garden, and Nonito dominated; he pressed forward, consistently outworked Narvaez, and landed the sharper punches; Nonito rocked him with a right hand in the 4^th round and Narvaez, undefeated at 20-0-1 in previous world title fights, fought only to survive after that - he threw very few punches, and the crowd booed the lack of action; scored 120-108 on all three scorecards; after the fight, Nonito said, “I wanted a knockout in the worst way, but you know, sometimes, this happens. I didn’t even want to look at him. I was so frustrated. I wanted to apologize to the fans, because the fans didn’t deserve this. This was my first time on the East Coast and in Madison Square Garden, and I wanted to give them a better fight.”…

WON WBC, WBO B WORLD TITLES - on 2-19-11 in Las Vegas, NV, he knocked out defending champion Fernando Montiel (44-2-2): the fight headlined at Mandalay Bay and it ended with a spectacular, devastating one-punch knockout; Nonito swept the 1^st round on all three scorecards; he scored a knockdown with a left hook in the 2^nd that dropped Montiel flat on his back – he struggled to get up, fell again, then finally got to his feet and the referee allowed him to continue, but Nonito landed a right hand-left hook combination and the referee stopped the fight at 2:25; after the fight, Nonito said, “I told Robert Garcia in camp before Christmas it would be a second-round knockout. I had a premonition. It was the speed - that was my main key. The openings he gave me was all I needed. In the first round I wanted to test what he would do. I was blocking a lot of his shots and I memorized where his head would be. I knew my punches would land and that’s what happened. When I hit him with the left hook and he started twitching, I knew the fight was over. I feel more comfortable at this weight and I want to be undisputed in this weight class. If that doesn't happen, I want to go up to 122 or 126. I just want to keep going. My name is up there enough where I can get a big fight now.”…

2010 – WON VACANT WBC CONTINENTAL AMERICAS B TITLE - on 12-4-10 in Anaheim, CA, he knocked out former WBA bantamweight world champion Wladimir Sidorenko (22-2-2): the fight headlined at the Honda Center, and Nonito quickly overpowered him – he rocked Sidorenko with a series of punches in the 1^st round, then scored a knockdown with a left uppercut-right hand combination moments later; Nonito bloodied Sidorenko’s nose in the 2^nd, and scored another knockdown with a left hook in the 3^rd round; Nonito knocked down Sidorenko again with a right hand that dropped him to one knee in the 4^th, and the referee stopped the fight without a count at 1:48; Sidorenko was also cut on the left side of his head; after the fight Nonito said, “The Darchinyan fight was one punch. This was, by far, my best performance as a fighter. You can’t hit what you can’t catch, and I proved I can carry my power in this weight class. I was motivated enough to know that I can dominate anyone. He’s a tough guy. I looked in his eyes in the first round. I always know when I hurt someone, and I knew that I hurt him, but he kept coming.”…

1^ST WBA INTERIM S-FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 7-10-10 in San Juan, PR, he TKOd lefthanded Hernan Marquez (27-1): the fight was co-featured with the Juan Manuel Lopez-Bernabe Concepcion main event, and Nonito dominated; he surprisingly boxed in the lefthanded stance for the first four rounds – he was hit much more often than usual, and his own punches were not as effective; he switched to his regular righthanded stance in the 5^th, and scored a knockdown with a left hook; he scored another knockdown with a left uppercut in the 8^th – Marquez got up but was unsteady, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:59; after seven rounds, Nonito led by scores of 68-64, 68-64, 69-63; after the fight, he said, “I knew I could figure him out right away, but I wanted to practice my lefty style. I couldn’t counter him the way I could other guys. I took the beating, but I think I needed that.”; Marquez went on to win the WBA flyweight world title in April, 2011…

On 2-13-10 in Las Vegas he knocked out former WBO interim mini-flyweight world champion and late substitute Manuel Vargas (26-4-1): Nonito was originally scheduled to defend the WBA title against Gerson Guerrero, but Guerrero failed his eye exam and withdrew; Vargas took the fight on short notice, and it was changed to a nontitle fight; Nonito quickly overpowered him – he scored a knockdown with a left uppercut in the 3^rd round, and Vargas was counted out at 1:33; after the fight, Nonito said, “It didn’t matter who I was fighting. I was able to figure him out early, and I knew in the first round he was feeling my power. At that point, it was just a matter of relaxing and not being careless.”...

2009 – WON WBA INTERIM S-FL WORLD TITLE - on 8-15-09 in Las Vegas he won a 12 round unanimous decision against Rafael Concepcion (13-3-1): the fight headlined at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino; Concepcion weighed in at 119.5 pounds, 4.5 pounds over the 115-pound limit, and was not eligible to win the title; Concepcion pressed forward, but Nonito boxed and moved well and built an early lead – he swept the first four rounds on two scorecards, and won three of the first four on the other; Nonito cut Concepcion over his left eye in the 2^nd round, but also injured his left hand in the round; Concepcion rallied in the middle rounds – he won the 5^th and 6^th rounds on two scorecards, swept the 7^th on all three, then won the 9^th round on two scorecards; but Nonito finished the fight strongly – he sept the 10^th and 11^th rounds and won the 12^th on two scorecards, and won by scores of 117-111, 116-112, 115-113; after the fight, Nonito said, “I was confident in my power and I thought I could take him out, but he turned out to be a little bit tougher than I expected. I thought I was going to be able to take him out with my power punches and he ran into them, but he was absolutely a lot bigger than I was, and that was absolutely the key factor in this fight. If he was 115, he would have went down early with all the shots I hit him with. I thought I fought a good, smart fight and that I was in control. I'm very pleased.”...

3^RD IBF FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 4-19-09 in Manila, PH, he TKOd previously undefeated former amateur standout Raul Martinez (24-0): the fight headlined at Araneta Coliseum, and Nonito dominated; he scored two knockdowns in the 1^st round – the first with a left uppercut, the second with a right hand; he scored another knockdown with a right hand in the 2^nd round; Nonito scored another knockdown with a left uppercut in the 4^th round, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:42; after three rounds, Nonito led by scores of 30-24 on all three scorecards; after the fight, Nonito said, “I knew if I hit him, I would hurt him. He sits on his punches, he’s right there.”...

2008 – 1^ST IBF FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 11-1-08 in Las Vegas he TKOd Moruti Mthalane (22-1): the bout was co-featured with the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.-Matt Vanda main event, and it was an exciting fight; Mthalane gave a good effort and several rounds were close, but Nonito had the edge in most of them; he cut Mthalane badly over his right eye with a right hand in the 6^th round, and the referee stopped the fight on the cut at 1:31; after five rounds, Nonito led by scores of 49-46, 49-46, 48-47; Nonito later said he broke the little finger on his left hand when he hit Mthalane on the elbow in the 2^nd round; Moauti went on to win the IBF flyweight world title in November, 2009…

2007 – 1^ST IBF FL WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - on 12-1-07 in Mashantucket, CT, he TKOd Luis Maldonado (37-1-1): Nonito dominated the fight; he outboxed Maldonado, consistently landed the harder punches, and cut Maldonado over both of his eyes in the 2^nd round; Nonito scored a knockdown with a left hook late in the 7^th round then rocked Maldonado with a series of punches in the 8^th, and the referee stopped the fight at 1:16; after seven rounds, Nonito led by scores of 70-62, 70-62, 69-63...

WON IBF FL WORLD TITLE - on 7-7-07 in Bridgeport, CT, he TKOd previously undefeated lefthanded defending champion Vic Darchinyan (28-0): it was a spectacular and devastating one-punch knockout; Nonito dominated most of the fight – he started fast and outworked Darchinyan in the early rounds and staggered him twice with left hooks late in the 3^rd; Darchinyan rallied and landed a couple of hard left hands early in the 4^th round, but Nonito scored a knockdown with a left hook midway through the 5^th round that dropped Darchinyan flat on his back and bloodied his nose - he got up, but stumbled across the ring and fell face-first into the ropes, and the referee stopped the fight as Darchinyan’s corner entered the ring at 0:38; after four rounds, the judges scored 40-36 Donaire, 38-38, 38-38; after the fight, Nonito said, “I felt great in there tonight. I came in here as an underdog. Nobody believed in me,  but I did it. I said yesterday that one punch can make a difference between me and him. I think the key for me in tonight’s fight was every time Darchinyan threw and landed, I punched back and that got him thinking. It took the bully out of him. I’ve fought guys who were heavier than Darchinyan, so I timed my shots. He has heavy hands, but my brother told me he’s not as tough as he thinks he is. I shut him up and he still wouldn’t admit in the ring after the fight that I beat him. I feel so unbelievably great, it hasn’t even dawned on me yet what I have accomplished. This fight wasn’t just for me. It was for my family and the Filipino people, too. I could feel their energy tonight.  I felt so good in the ring.”...

On 5-12-07 in Reno, NV, he TKOd Kevin Hudgins (5-9): Nonito staggered Hudgins repeatedly in the 1^st round, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:29; after the fight, Nonito said, “The first minute, I was rusty. I felt the rust. I got my way through it. The way my power is, all I have to do is get in shape. I heard he was very durable. It did worry me a little, but I did what I had to do.”...

2006 – 1^ST NABF S FL TITLE DEFENSE – on 10-7-06 in Las Vegas he won a 12 round unanimous decision against Oscar Andrade (35-24-1): the fight was on the undercard of the Joel Casamayor-Diego Corrales main event and the Vic Darchinyan-Glenn Donaire co-feature at Mandalay Bay; Nonito built an early lead – he scored a knockdown in the 2^nd round and swept the first three rounds on all three scorecards, but was cut over his right eye by a clash of heads in the 4^th; Nonito then swept the 5^th and 6^th rounds, but Andrade had a few rallies in the second half of the fight – he swept the 7^th round and won the 8^th on two scorecards, then swept the 10^th round, as well; but Nonito swept the 9^th, 11^th, and 12^th, and won by scores of 118-109, 116-111, 116-111...

On 7-29-06 in Santa Ynez, CA, he TKO’d Jose Cardenas (5-6-1): Nonito scored two knockdowns in the 2^nd round – the first with a left hook, the second with a right hand; Cardenas got up both times but was unsteady, and the referee stopped the fight at 1:48...

WON VACANT NABF S-FL TITLE - on 1-20-06 in Temecula, CA, he won a 10 round split decision against Kahren Harutyunyan (13-2-3): it was a good fight; Nonito scored a knockdown in the 2^nd round, but Harutyunyan came back and rocked Nonito in the 3^rd and several rounds were close; Harutyunyan rallied and outworked Nonito in the last two rounds, but Nonito won by scores of 97-92, 97-92 Donaire, 95-94 Harutyunyan; after the fight, Nonito said he hurt his left hand; “It’s the same kind of cartilage injury I suffered in my last fight. I was in a lot of pain, especially after the seventh round. It made for me being off balance for a lot of the fight. I couldn’t use my left hand as much as I wanted, but I knew I had to keep trying to use it and fight through the pain. I give Kahren a lot of credit. He is a really nice guy and fought his heart out, but I definitely thought I won the fight.”…

2005 - on 11-5-05 in Stateline, NV, he won an 8 round unanimous decision against Ilido Julio (33-6-1): the fight was on the undercard of the Jeff Lacy-Scott Pemberton main event, and Nonito dominated; Julio pressed forward, but Nonito boxed and counterpunched effectively, and Julio was penalized one point in the 4^th round for low blows; scored 79-70 on all three scorecards…

On 10-1-05 in Reno, NV, he knocked out Daniel Gonzalez (3-1): the fight was on the undercard of the James Toney-Dominick Guinn main event; Nonito scored two knockdowns in the 1^st round, and Gonzalez was counted out at 2:19…

On 7-2-05 in Las Vegas he won a 6 round unanimous decision against Larry Olvera (5-4-1): the fight was on the undercard of the Samuel Peter-Taurus Sykes main event; Nonito was very impressive - he scored one knockdown in the 1^st round and another in the 2^nd, and won by scores of 60-52, 59-53, 59-53…

On 5-13-05 in San Jose, CA, he TKOd late substitute Paulino Villalobos (23-29-2): Villalobos took the fight on one day’s notice; he pressed forward and gave a good effort, but Nonito dominated the fight; he consistently outworked Villalobos and landed the harder punches; he cut Villalobos over his left eye in the 4^th round and over the right eye in the 5^th, and the referee stopped the fight after the 6^th round…

2004 - on 11-12-04 in Montebello, CA, he won an 8 round unanimous decision against Gilberto Bolanos (3-6-1): Nonito scored two knockdowns in the 1^st round and dominated the fight; scored 80-70, 79-71, 79-71; after the fight, Nonito said, “He was a tough guy. I give him credit. I could not believe he would get up from the knockdowns. I wanted to knock him out, but a win is a win. I’m happy with the victory, but I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to finish him off. I want to stay at 115 pounds. I’m confident in my power for a fighter my size.”…

On 6-18-04 in Montebello he TKOd Ricardo Barrera (16-4-1): Barrera started to swell around his eyes in the 1^st round; the swelling worsened as the fight progressed, and the referee stopped the fight on the injury after the 4^th round; after the fight, Nonito said, “He is a tough guy with a big heart. I was surprised he didn’t go down from my punches. To be the second person after Rafael Marquez to score a knockout over Barrera is an honor, because Marquez is such a great fighter. I’m very happy with my performance tonight.”…

2003 - on 6-27-03 in Vallejo, CA, he TKOd Jorge Lopez (2-6-1): at 1:43 of the 1^st round…

2002 - on 11-2-02 in Taguig, PHIL, he won an 8 round unanimous decision against Mark Sales (6-14-2)…

On 9-1-02 in Guam he knocked out Kaichon Sor Vorapin (3-4): in the 2^nd round…

On 5-31-02 in Paranaque City, PHIL, he knocked out Noel Alma (debut): in the 1^st round…

2001 - on 7-3-01 in Monterey, CA, he TKOd Jose Luis Torres (0-3): at 0:30 of the 1^st round…

On 6-8-01 in Inglewood, CA, he won a 4 round unanimous decision agianst Salvador Santoya (debut): scored 40-34 on all three scorecards…

On 3-10-01 in Vallejo he lost a 5 round unanimous decision against Rosendo Sanchez (2-1)…

He debuted at the age of 18 on 2-22-01 in Inglewood and knocked out Jose Lazaro (1-3-1): at 1:46 of the 1^st round…

AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Nonito said, “I was born in Bohol, Philippines. I was 10 years old when we moved to the States. I have two brothers and one sister. Glenn is three years older than me, he’s the eldest of the family. [note: Glenn Donaire was an accomplished amateur who also competed in the 2000 Olympic Trials]...

“Glenn started boxing before I did, about a year, and he was bringing trophies and getting attention from everybody. It was really cool, how he felt, how the smile was on his face, and I wanted to bring that smile to everybody - I wanted to bring some of my accomplishments, too. I was 11 when I got started, and I’ve been hooked.

“My dad had never trained anybody before us. We were his first fighters. He fought, he was in karate, boxing, all kind of martial arts. He was in the military in the Philippines. It was more of a street-fight thing. But he had never trained anybody. He didn’t hardly know how to do anything. The first night that we did mitts with him it was so awkward, so funny, that we just started cracking up right in the middle of the ring. Eventually, we stepped it up and he went way beyond the other coaches’ talent.

“I had 68 wins and eight losses as an amateur. I was in the Nationals every year, I fought with the best at that time. The only international I fought was for the JOs International in Puebla, Mexico.

“I moved back to the Philippines for about a year, I think it was in 2001 to 2002. I’ve been back here in California since then.

“I’m naturally lefthanded. A lot of people don’t know that. Fighting righthanded was just something that I was more comfortable with. Fighting was just something that I enjoyed doing at an early age. I didn’t really take it seriously. I just kept it up, and I got used to it. I have a lot of strength in my left hand. I switch up sometimes, but righthanded is my main stance.”...

Nonito and Rachel Marcial, a fashion model and former member of the U.S. National Taekwondo team, were married on August 8, 2008, in a private ceremony at Stewart’s Cove in Carmel, California...

AMATEUR HIGHLIGHTS:

2000 NATIONAL JUNIOR OLYMPIC CHAMPIONSHIPS - Marquette, Michigan, 106 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: in the quarterfinals on 6-23-00 he won a 5-0 decision against Manuel Perez of Denver, Colo.; in the semifinals on 6-24-00 he won on walkover against Dat Nguyen of of Woliluku, Hi.; in the finals on 6-25-00 he won a 3-2 decision against James Kirkland of Austin, Tex....

2000 OLYMPIC TRIALS - Tampa, Florida, 106 pounds: in the quarterfinals on 2-9-00 he won a 19-7 decision against Ron Siler of Cincinnati, Oh. [note: four years later, Siler went on to make the 2004 U.S. Olympic team at 112 pounds]; in the semifinals on 2-10-00 he won a 16-3 decision against Bradley Martinez of Ft. Carson, Colo./Army; in the finals on 2-12-00 he lost an 8-6 decision against Brian Viloria of Waipahu, Hawaii; in the finals of the challengers’ bracket on 2-13-00 he lost by walkover against Karoz Norman of St. Louis, Mo.; looking back, Nonito said, “I was only 17 and I had a heartache, because I thought I won the fight against Brian Viloria. It was controversial, and knowing that my goal was in my grasp, just right there, it broke my heart. After the decision, people were booing and throwing chairs. It was a fight to remember. There was actually a protest, my brother did a protest, because he beat Viloria more than I ever did. He walked him down like he was nothing. They offered me a scholarship at Northern Michigan, but it was something I turned down. So I turned pro.

“If I had won the Challenge bracket, we would have to pay our own way to go to, I think it was Boston. We didn’t have enough money to do that, so I didn’t fight. I thought it was worthless. I had beat that guy in the Nationals in January. I stopped him in the third round. He was so happy, knowing that I wouldn’t go in there with him. I knew I would lose by decision even if I won the fight. That happens too much in the amateurs.”...

2000 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS - Colorado Springs, Colorado, 106 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: in his first fight on 1-12-00 in he won a 22-8 decision against Raul Martinez of San Antonio, Tex.; in the quarterfinals on 1-13-00 he stopped Robert Ceron of Doraville, Ga., at 0:49 of the 4^th round; in the semifinals on 1-14-00 he stopped Karoz Norman of St. Louis, Mo., at 0:40 of the 3^rd round; in the finals on 1-15-00 he won on walkover against Aaron Todd of Troup, Tex…

1999 INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR OLYMPIC CHAMPIONSHIPS - Mexico City, Mexico, 106 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: in the quarterfinals he drew a bye; in the semifinals he won a 6-0 decision against Miguel Lopez of Mexico; in the finals he won a 7-6 decision against Isidro Granados of Mexico...

STRENGTHS: Has good skills, speed, and movement...has tremendous punching power in both hands…physically strong...is experienced against top opposition...had a strong amateur background…

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 32 fights...181 total rounds...73 world championship rounds...15 interim world championship rounds...

AVERAGE LENGTH OF BOUTS: 5.6 rounds...

KNOCKOUT PERCENTAGE: 64 %...

DISTANCE FIGHTS: 12 rounds – 5 (5-0)...10 rounds - 1 (1-0)…