Nonito Donaire's next fight plans were criticized by Manny Pacquiao's strength and conditioning coach, Justin Fortune, as he believes that "The Filipino Flash" will not be doing as exceptionally well once he drops back to a lower weight class. The trainer also questioned the five-division champ's sparring methods.
Nonito Donaire's next fight is foreseen to be at a lower weight class, wherein he is believed to do better. Currently, he is fighting at 126-pounds at boxing's featherweight division, and is believed to have contemplated to go back down to either 122 or 118-pounds.
These plans, however, were critiqued by Fortune, noting that the weight change intended for Nonito Donaire's next fight is not that smart of an idea.
"Donaire's 31, so I think it might be difficult to drop down from 126 to 122 or 118, as he plans to do," Fortune told Philippine publication Philstar.com. "It'll be up to him if he's willing to do the work and sacrifice."
Donaire himself also admitted that he feels as if he had lost the passion for the sweet science and that boxing is now "just a job" for him. Fortune also spoke about this said thought, and rightfully, he believes that no good can come out of it.
"If he continues fighting just for the money, he could end up getting hurt, and nobody wants that," Fortune said.
The veteran trainer also questioned Donaire's sparring methods. Upon noticing the damage the boxer had been taking in his last fights, Fortune began to voice out the concern about the possible errors his camp had been committing in terms of using the right gear.
"I don't know what headgear he uses in sparring, but I notice fighters now use headgear that practically covers up their entire face," Fortune explained. "I'm old school. Boxing is a tough sport."
"If you protect your face too much in sparring, there's a good chance you'll get cut up during a fight, because your face isn't tough enough to take the hits," he added.
