Nonito Donaire chats it up with FightHub to talk about his upcoming title defense against Jessie Magdelano. Check out some excepts below on what he had to say about where his career currently stands...
On being paired on a card with fellow Filipino fighter Manny Pacquiao:
"It's a great honor, man. I mean we've been wanting this for a long time and now we can finally give that gift back to all the boxing fans, especially the Filipino boxing fans, because it's all in one. They'll see their favorite fighters just fighting on one card and they don't have to worry about the next card - that it's gonna be me or Manny or all that stuff. I mean this is just incredible to be there. It's historical.
On how he gauges Jessie Magdelano as an opponent being that he has the much longer resume:
"If you look [at the past fights] I've been defeated and stuff like that so people are putting me down like 'he's already done, over the hill and just trying to create something' but that's something they'll find out. For me, again, I claim victory. That's what I'm for. I'm inside the ring to know that I am victorious, that's the outcome, and that's what I'm gonna work for.
"Looking at all that accolades and stuff like that, it matters not...when you go in there, you're not hitting them with the belts...you're using your hands. So that's pretty much what it is. It's just two guys going in there and fighting and that's familiar to everybody who's fighting."
On what goes through his mind when media writes him off and Magelano says he doesn't have it anymore:
"I've always done it in the past when people said I couldn't do it, and I've always proven them wrong. This is the same thing. I go out there with the mindset of victory...I'm gonna give it all I got and no matter what you guys do and say I'm grateful for it because it's pushing me to be victorious...It's only done when I say it's done. "
On If he suffered from any complacency before or after fighting Nicholas Walters:
"Definitely. When you start rising up in ranks and people start saying 'oh, you're the pound-for-pound best,' this and this and that, and you're winning, you're training half-ass and at 50% you're still knocking everybody out -- I mean one way or another you get to a familiar place where you're like you don't even care anymore. And that's what happened to me so I said to myself 'I'm never touching this friggin' floor again,' 'I'm never ever put my gloves on here again,' 'I will never put my knees on this again.'
"So I rose and became a world champion again, and I got this kid hungry thinking that it's gonna be an easy walk for him because of what's happened in the past years. But he'll find out soon."