Nonito Donaire: “Darchinyan is gonna look for a knockout, I’m gonna look for a knockout, I think it’s not gonna last the 10 rounds.”

On Saturday, November 9th, former IBO champion Nonito Donaire will step back into the ring to face an old rival of his, Vic Darchinyan.

This rematch is six years in the making and will take place at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. The bout will be part of a triple-header card shown on HBO Boxing. Donaire is looking to recapture his glory after losing his titles against Guillermo Rigondeaux earlier this April. The first fight with Darchinyan helped catapult Donaire into stardom and he is looking to once again defeat “The Raging Bull”. Jenna J recently had a chance to speak to both Nonito Donaire and Vic Darchinyan ahead of their upcoming fight. Here is what they had to say.

Jenna J: Hi Nonito, my question for you is, being the fact that there was one single punch that ended the first fight, and the fact that Vic Darchinyan often said after it that it was a lucky punch. Do you feel a need to show a more complete performance in the rematch to show people that it was more than one shot?

Nonito Donaire: I don’t need to prove anything, we trained for that punch, we trained for the things that we knew he would do. We worked hard on his impatience and that’s why we set that up and I was able to hit him in the third round with the same punch.

For people who really understood and watched the fight, it wasn’t just that one punch, it was set up the whole time, it just landed perfectly on that one punch that landed. But again we don’t count on that because Vic has grown and Vic is ready for this fight, and we are ready for this fight as well.

Jenna J: Ok Nonito this is gonna be your first fight at 126 lbs. How much more comfortable do you feel at this weight class, and do you think this will be your new home going forward?

Nonito Donaire: I think so, I feel good, I feel good working out and sparring at this weight class cause I’m actually training to win the fight, not to lose the weight. We’re working on lots of game plans rather than thinking “Oh I gotta cut down on the weight,” and my speed is coming back, so we’re very excited for that.

Jenna J: My question is now for Vic Darchinyan. Vic you’re 37 [years of age] but you don’t show any signs of decline and that’s very rare for a guy in these lower weight classes, especially coming up. How do you feel about your longevity that you’ve had in the sport

Vic Darchinyan: Yes I’m 37 but it’s not about age, I think it’s about how confident and how motivated you are for a fight. You’re not listening to your age, you’re supposed to be listening to your training and your mind, it’s all about mind. I can run 15 miles at very fast speed and I’m not getting tired, I’m recovering.

I did very good preparation thanks to my coach it’s all very good. I’m very, very prepared and like you said, I’m 37 years old, I can’t even feel it, I feel like I’m even 25 or 27. My body is listening to me, I’m not getting tired and I think it’s about mind and how you can prepare yourself.

Quotes:

Nonito Donaire: “Darchinyan is gonna look for a knockout, I’m gonna look for a knockout, I think it’s not gonna last the 10 rounds.”

“I feel good at this weight class, i’m training to win, not to lose the weight.”

Vic Darchinyan: “For this fight with Nonito I am prepared mentally for him. I know everything that he’s gonna do and I know what I’m gonna do, I just wanna come and demolish him, that’s what I want.

“I wanna show the world how much I’m motivated and I wanna come and expose him and show the world that I can beat him. Not only beat him, beat him easy.”

Click on the player to listen to the entire press call.