DONAIRE’S MANAGER SAYS THEY WANT NAITO
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 20 Jul 2007
Now that Thailand’s Pongsaklek Wonjongkam has lost his WBC flyweight title to Japan’s Daisuke Naito by a twelve round unanimous decision last July 18, the manager of IBF champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire says a unification title fight against Naito is his first choice.
In an overseas telephone conversation with boxing writer and Radio-TV host Dennis Principe of Sports Radio and NBN, Cameron Dunkin said Donaire who won the IBF and IBO titles with a sensational fifth round KO of cocky Vic Darchinyan last July 8 is determined to unify the title and Naito is the “main option.”
However, Dunkin said that if a unification bout against Naito wont push through he was eyeing WBA champion Takefumi Sakata or WBO champion Omar Narvaes of Argentina.
Dunkin said promoter Gary Shaw was looking at a title fight in either November or December in the US on Showtime and would communicate with the handlers of Naito to find out whether he would be willing to face Donaire in a unification title bout in the US. Principe told us that should that fail Donaire’s manager would talk to Sakata’s camp. The 27 year old Sakata who has a record of 31-4-1 with 15 KO’s won the title last March 19 with a third round TKO over Lorenzo Parra and then made a successful defense against Roberto Vasquez in a rematch on July 1 after he had dropped a split decision to Vasquez in a title fight earlier.
Narvaes is a 30 year old Argentine southpaw who is undefeated with a record of 24-0-2 with 15 KO’s and won the WBO crown with a unanimous decision over Adonis Rivas on July 13, 2002.
Donaire who is scheduled to arrive in Manila Saturday morning aboard a Philippine Airlines flight from Los Angeles as guest of the giant broadcast network ABS-CBN told Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today he would “do whatever they decide because they brought me here” in reference to Dunkin and Shaw. The young Filipino from General Santos City who has impressed everybody with his professional attitude said “because I am a world champion doesn’t mean I am going to make my own decisions.” He said he would agree to fight anybody his management team chooses.
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