Interviews with Nonito Donaire, Undisputed Boxing Gym owner Brian Schwartz and Nonito's strength and conditioning coach Mike Bazzel. Nonito is singing and dancing up a storm in the ring. This is a great piece! Please Enjoy!

www.ktvu.com/videos/sports/special-report-hanging-out-with-world-bantamweight/vFFwq/

(KGO) -- Bay Area boxer Nonito Donaire fights in Madison Square Garden for the first time on Saturday night against undefeated Omar Narvaez. Donaire is coming off a six-month layoff and had to work hard to get down to 118 pounds, but man, can he punch. If Donaire has any anxiety about his upcoming bout, you sure couldn't detect it by watching him at his open workout. Donaire's crushing knockout win in his last fight established the Filipino Flash as one of the top boxers in the world, pound for pound -- mentioned with names like Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. On Saturday Nonito faces Narvaez who is undefeated in 37 bouts. "Experience. He definitely has experience in fighting. He's won and he's never been defeated. My main goal is to defeat him. To give him that one," said Donaire. But Donaire is bigger, stronger, younger and faster. Trainer Robert Garcia thinks Donaire will be fine. "Nonito is so powerful, and so quick, that I have no doubt that he's going to finish him off before the 5th round," said Donaire's trainer Robert Garcia. Victor Conte is once again a part of Team Donaire. The controversial ex-BALCO boss handles Donaire's nutrition and believes this bout in the Big Apple is a big opportunity. "He needs a very dominating victory here. And I think he's going to get that. Nonito is an exciting fighter because he's got that famous left hook that he knocks everybody out with," said Conte. Well, not everybody -- Donaire couldn't quit finish me off when we sparred months ago and he apparently wants some more. "I don't see Larry Beil anywhere. Larry Beil in the building? Larry Beil in the building? Oh, he's ducking. Larry...I'm gunning for you my friend, you better be ready. I'm too fast. Did you see that? I just went to grab a cookie," said Donaire as he bobbed in front of the camera. (Copyright ©2011 KGO-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

By Ryan Maquiñana With several hundreds in attendance packing in the Undisputed Gym in San Carlos, Calif., unified bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire held court at his first of two public workout days leading into his Oct. 22 title defense against Argentina’s Omar Narvaez at New York City’s Madison Square Garden Theater. “I love to be here at home in the Bay Area,” Donaire said. “It brings me great excitement to be able to work out in front of the fans who have been supporting me for so long. “It will be my last fight at bantamweight, and I haven’t seen too much film on Narvaez, I will be ready by October 22,” “The challenges up there are better at the [1]22’s, and there are guys like Arce and Nishioka…and maybe we can move up to featherweight and fight ‘El Ciclon’ (Yuriorkis Gamboa).” After a candid Q & A session with the fans while trainer Robert Garcia wrapped his hands, Donaire sparred for the full 12 rounds, eight with unbeaten junior featherweight Roman Morales and another four with another 122-pounder, Jamal Parram. “He’s pretty fast and changes his punches a lot from an uppercut to a hook,” Morales said. “Him and Eloy Perez are the fastest I’ve ever sparred. Eloy’s got a fast jab, but with Nonito, all his punches are fast.” “You learn a lot when you spar Nonito,” Parram said. “He’s so patient in there and it’s amazing to see him think inside the ring.” Garcia also reflected on the sparring, which he hoped would give Donaire a good taste of the southpaw style. Narvaez, a lefty who employs a strong lead left hand and tricky right hook in his arsenal, will not be overlooked if you ask the celebrated trainer. “He’s got a lot of experience,” Garcia said of Narvaez. “I think this guy is one of those that likes to take the fight to the later rounds, so we have to be ready for that, too. Overall Nonito was impressive. He always takes a 30-second break in between rounds. My guys always do the minute break, but he does it because he recovers so easy.” “I came up here because I wanted to see him train, so it’s my first time seeing him spar,” said the trainer’s nephew, lightweight prospect Javier “Pelos” Garcia. “He looked very strong and fast for his weight class.” As consultant Victor Conte looked on, Donaire worked the pads with strength and conditioning coach Mike Bazzel and assistant trainer Brian Schwartz for a few more rounds. Team Donaire donned black and pink T-shirts, and Nonito revealed the reason why. “We’re campaigning for breast cancer research,” he told BoxingScene. “I’ll be wearing black and pink trunks with my black Everlast gloves in the ring, too.” After conducting interviews with several media outlets from the local ABC affiliate to Philippine News, Donaire interacted with the fans on a closer level, inviting them to do plyometric drills with him. “I thought it was great he was talking to the fans,” said fight fan Aaron Shaw of Daly City. “He was really personable, and not every boxer does that. It was a good experience for everyone who came.” While Donaire capped the afternoon by posing for photographs and signing autographs for every fan who lined up, his wife Rachel revealed how this Saturday came to fruition. “We’ll hire security, merchandising, and a lot of food is provided by sponsors, like Wingstop,” she said. “The drinks were provided by Coca-Cola. The alcohol was provided by VuQo. So there’s a lot of people who pitch into the event and then all we do is social media…and it becomes like a huge social event. It’s more family-oriented than it is for a [regular] media event.” She also touched on their busy schedule over the next two months, which includes a church wedding in the Philippines in November following the Narvaez fight. However, up next is a second public workout at Gleason’s Gym in New York on Oct. 15 at 1 p.m. “[Nonito]’s holding something exactly like this where fans and media can come, just have fun, get to know each other, and hopefully N.Y.C. can be just as beautiful as the Bay,” Mrs. Donaire said. Of course, with her husband’s meteoric rise in recent years, it’s all part of the territory now. With the boxing world buzzing about his prospects of becoming a five-weight world champion one day, Donaire is fully cognizant of what lies ahead, and he embraces it. However, it all starts with beating Narvaez. “The Filipino Flash is never backing down from a good fight,” he said. “I’ll fight anybody out there…but I always respect my opponent, and I know I have to win this fight first.” Ryan Maquiñana is the boxing correspondent at Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. He’s a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and Ring Magazine’s Ratings Advisory Panel. E-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , check out his blog at www.maqdown.com or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.

Andre Berto Stops Jan Zaveck

ESPN NEWS

Andre Berto, who lost his piece of the welterweight title on a decision to Victor Ortiz in a fight-of-the-year candidate in April, rebounded in his first fight since to win another 147-pound belt when he stopped Jan Zaveck in the fifth round at the Beau Rivage Hotel and Casino in Biloxi, Miss., on Saturday night.

Berto and Zaveck waged a hard-hitting action fight with both men landing flush shots, but Zaveck's face did not hold up. He suffered cuts around both eyes and his right eye was also badly swollen in the fifth round before his corner decided to stop the fight after the round while Zaveck screamed for them to let him continue.

"I wanted to come out and make a statement," Berto told HBO. "I wanted to come out and say I didn't go nowhere."

Slovenia's Zaveck, the only titleholder in his nation's history, was fighting in the United States for the first time and making his fourth defense of the belt he won in December 2009 in his only previous fight outside Europe, a third-round stoppage of Isaac Hlatshwayo in his native South Africa.

Berto (28-1, 22 KOs) said he hoped to face Ortiz in a rematch of their four-knockdown fight -- two apiece for both -- though before that Ortiz has his first defense to make against heavy favorite Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Sept. 17.

"I was stuck in a cage the last few months," Berto told HBO. "I'm focused. I'm ready. I'm hungry. Victor Ortiz, we definitely want to do it again."

Zaveck (31-2, 18 KOs) was doing well in the competitive fight until his skin gave out on him.

"I was saving energy for the second half of the fight," Zaveck told HBO. "If this injury hadn't happened, it would have been a very good match."

Also on the card, 2008 U.S. Olympian Gary Russell Jr. (18-0, 10 KOs) cruised to a lopsided decision against Mexico's Leonilo Miranda (32-3, 30 KOs) in an eight-round featherweight bout. Russell, who tattooed Miranda with fast punches throughout the fight, won 80-72 on two scorecards and 79-73 on the third.

In another undercard fight, welterweight contender Randall Bailey (42-7, 36 KOs), a former junior welterweight titlist from Miami, rolled to a 10-round unanimous decision against the Dominican Republic's Yoryi Estrella (10-6-2, 7 KOs), winning 100-89, 100-89 and 98-91. Bailey is due to receive the first shot at Berto as the mandatory challenger.

Nobody forgets his first time.

Andre Ward first got into the ring to spar when he was 10, and he remembers getting beat something fierce by a 15-year-old kid named Glenn at Hayward's U.S. Karate and Boxing Gym.

Muhammad Ali once said he could float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. Young Ward ran like a cheetah and covered up like a turtle.

"Glenn gave it to me good, whipped my butt," Ward said. "But I kept coming back, and I would start to get one punch in before I ran. Then two punches and run. And I went from there."

Glenn had a little brother, Nonito Donaire, who was 11 1/2 when he signed up at the gym - three months after Ward did, in June 1994.

Donaire signed up for karate classes, thinking boxing was too violent. Ultimately, he said he bowed to pressure from his dad, a former fighter, and his brother and ... well, Donaire will never forget his first amateur boxing match.

"I was 13 and they were putting the gloves on, and I was freaking out I was so scared," Donaire said. "I peed in my pants as I was going into the ring. Then, the fight started, the other kid hit me and that triggered something."

Did it ever. Oakland's Ward and San Leandro's Donaire trained together, became friends and then world champions. Ward defends his WBA super middleweight title tonight against Arthur Abraham in the semifinals of the Super Six World Boxing Classic in Carson (Los Angeles County). Donaire is the WBC and WBO bantamweight champ after knocking out Fernando Montiel in the second round in February.

"It's just unbelievable where we are in our careers," Ward said. "We all dreamed of being world champions, but you can't ever truly imagine what it's going to turn out to be. This is awesome."

U.S. Karate and Boxing Gym is in its 22nd year at its current location and going strong, just like 61-year-old Joe Olivarez. Olivarez was a street fighter who trained as an amateur boxer in Mexico before discovering the martial arts. He met his wife, Crystal, at a karate class in Hayward in 1970 and was immediately down for the count.

"She was beautiful and then she started talking about the fight that was going to be on TV that week," Olivarez said. "I said, 'Whaaaat?' "

They opened their first version of the school in 1984, moving to the current location in '89. Then one year, two future world champions walked in. Olivarez remembers Ward and Donaire being different types of kids, but the same.

"Andre was an old soul, always serious, and Nonito was the comedian," Olivarez said. "But they both had a smoothness to their fighting, and they both worked very hard at it."

Virgil Hunter started working with Ward at Olivarez's gym and will be in Ward's corner tonight as his trainer. He said other kids - including Donaire - would call Ward "Poppa" when he was 11 years old.

"That's how he carried himself," Hunter said. "He had his fun, but he was always deep in thought more than other kids. Nonito doesn't take anything too seriously, but he has fun at becoming better and better - he takes that very seriously."

Like the time, four years ago, when Donaire sparred at Olivarez's gym with Danny Kimbrell, who trains mixed-martial-arts fighters there. Kimbrell already had a cauliflower ear from one of Donaire's famous left hooks, and one day Donaire said he could beat Kimbrell for four rounds throwing nothing but jabs.

"It was like a sewing machine, the sound his fist was making against my face," Kimbrell said, laughing.

Donaire wasn't always having fun. He said the pressure he felt from his dad, once a boxer, trainer and now a professional cut-man, could be overwhelming. He stopped boxing at the end of 2001, four fights in, because it wasn't fun anymore and started making up for the partying and drinking he missed in his teenage years.

"Poppa" Ward was watching, though, and one day when he was giving him a ride, he pulled over and had a serious talk with Donaire.

"He wasn't boxing, just trying to find his way, and I told him he wasn't the guy I knew," Ward said. "I reminded him, 'Hey, God has a calling on your life and it's not just boxing, but I believe you still have a lot to give in boxing. Get yourself cleaned up, straighten up, man, and don't give up.'

"I kind of gave him a little jolt."

Donaire said the talk "had a big impact ... Andre was always there for me."

Donaire got back into boxing, ultimately deciding that he and his father couldn't get past their tension. He is now trained by Robert Garcia, and is even drawing comparisons to Manny Pacquiao after his devastating knockout of Montiel.

Ward was there in Las Vegas that night, beaming and saying he couldn't wait to get back into the ring and try to turn in a dominant performance like his friend's.

"To see Nonito do his thing - he can rewrite the history books if he keeps winning," Ward said. "He always inspires me. He says I inspire him and I helped him out back then, but he inspires me to be the best that I can be. Always has - back when we were in Hayward."

Back in Hayward, Olivarez is working with some new kids, showing them the discipline that boxing and karate can instill in someone. You would think he would have the names Ward and Donaire somewhere on the front window or on a new sign, to help drum up some more business, but that's not the eighth-degree black belt's style.

"I would never take advantage of my fighters like that," Olivarez said. "People eventually find out that they started here. I am just honored to have been a part of their lives and development into champions.

"And because they are great guys. It really touches my heart. ... Sometimes I can't find the words to describe how amazing it is."

E-mail Vittorio Tafur at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 FightNews.COM
Photos by Chris Farina/Top Rank

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On Monday, two-division world champion Nonito Donaire (24-1, 16 KOs) worked out in front of hundreds of fans that turned out at the Undisputed Boxing Gym in San Carlos, California. He is preparing to face former longtime WBA bantamweight champion Wladimir Sidorenko (22-2-2, 7 KOs) in a clash to be held at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calirornia on December 4 and broadcast live on pay-per-view. A victory by Donaire will set him up for challenging WBC bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel early next year.

Sidorenko, a former WBA bantamweight world champion who made eight defenses, will be the first Eastern European style opponent for ‘The Filipino Flash’

“My style is very versatile, so whatever comes at me,” said Donaire. “I only look at it in terms of hands. When the left hand comes, the right hand will come in and it’s always that process regardless of what style he has. The human body will always do the same process as anybody else, which is two hands, one is a left and the other one is the right and that’s what I look at and that’s how I’m able to counter a lot of guys because I know what’s coming at me. And whatever’s coming at me, I can devise a plan and if I can’t see it, Robert [Garcia] will see what I need to do and that’s why we’re very confident. I believe in Robert and I believe in my corner and my ability to change in whatever I need to, in order for me to take advantage of my opponent.”