No holiday break for 'Filipino Flash'

Former world flyweight champion Nonito Donaire Jr. will be spending the holiday season in training camp. With barely eight weeks left before he takes on his biggest fight in the last three years, the 28-year-old Filipino said that he won’t be celebrating this holiday season since he’ll be busy preparing for his bantamweight bout with Mexican champion Fernando Montiel. The fight with the tough Mexican champion is set on February 19 in Las Vegas, Nevada, with no less than the World Boxing Association (WBC) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) title belts at stake. “No Christmas break," said Donaire upon arriving in the country early Tuesday morning together with wife Rachel. “While in training, we’ll try to set up a Christmas party," said Donaire’s lovely wife. The Donaires will only spend a week of pleasure in the country before returning to the U.S. and begin Nonito’s training for the Montiel fight. Donaire, the former International Boxing Federation (IBF) flyweight title holder with a 25-1 record (with 17 knockouts), said he’s not going to waste the opportunity presented by his 12-round bout with Montiel. The match will be the biggest for the Filipino since he stunned the boxing world in 2007 with a sensational fifth round knockout of Vic Darchinyan to wrest the IBF crown. “As of now, he’s (Montiel) the top boxer in the division. I want to beat the best in the division so I can become number one," he said. Donaire also has one more thing in mind for his fight against the 31-year-old Montiel (44-2-2, 34 KOs). “He (Montiel) has two belts and I want to get his belts," he said. “One more belt after that for me to be the first Asian and first Filipino to be unified champion. That has been my aim and goal ever since." The Filipino is coming off a fourth-round KO win over former World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight champion Wladimir Sidorenko in Anaheim, California two weeks ago. Seven days after, Montiel won his 10-round non-title bout against Jovanny Soto in Mexico via a second-round KO, paving the way for his scheduled title defense against Donaire. – JVP, KY, GMANews.TV