Nonito Donaire and his wife Rachel, who also serves as his head trainer. DONAIRE INSTAGRAM
MANILA, Philippines—Nonito Donaire paid tribute to his wife Rachel, who has been serving as his head trainer, following his victory over Nordine Oubaali for the WBC World bantamweight title.
Their partnership was not only record-breaking for Donaire. The title win was also a huge accomplishment for Rachel, who became the first woman to receive WBC’s trainer belt.
“I wanna give the biggest shoutout to the first ever female head trainer to coach a World champion,” wrote Donaire on Instagram for his ‘Woman Crush Wednesday’ post. “#ANDNEW WBC champion trainer belt recipient [Rachel Donaire].”
#wcw #wce ##womancrushwednesday I wanna give the biggest shout-out to the FIRST EVER FEMALE HEAD TRAINER TO COACH A WORLD CHAMPION and….. #ANDNEW WBC CHAMPION TRAINER BELT recipient @Knockout_Queen . pic.twitter.com/NT3mLuhq8D
— Nonito Donaire – filipinoflash.eth (@filipinoflash) June 2, 2021
“Throughout camp we had numerous conversations on strategy and also shifting or changing strategy as to how she sees it would work. Not only that, she helped me to be able to perform best inside the ring by pushing me with all the strength and conditioning and speed and agility drills.”
Throughout camp we had numerous conversations on strategy and also shifting or changing strategy as to how she sees it would work. Not only that, she helped me to be able to perform best inside the ring by pushing me with all the strength and conditioning and speed and agility pic.twitter.com/EZRBWFuIB1
— Nonito Donaire – filipinoflash.eth (@filipinoflash) June 2, 2021
Donaire’s victory made him the oldest bantamweight champion at 38-years-old, breaking his own record he set in November 2018 when he defeated Ryan Burnett for the WBA Super World title two days after he turned 36.
Rachel, meanwhile, was given the honorary strap in recognition of her efforts as her husband’s head trainer in the fight.
The WBC crowns coaches with the trainer belt in their efforts that helped fighters win the green title strap.
“Then she steps into final sparring rounds so I can practice distance on a similar height and distance (No I didn’t hit her lol). Finally as a voice in the corner, all were instructed she was the only one to talk. I could hear her voice above everyone so it makes it easier for me to stay focused on the game plan rather than making it a more difficult night,” said wrote Donaire.
“I am grateful to my Queen for all that she does, not only in the gym but also the house to make camp run smoothly. Let me say, that it has not been easy for her being a female in this sport. She’s taken a lot of hits for being my manager and trainer. Called a [expletive] and saying she doesn’t know fighting when she was a champion in her own right when all she did was fight for me. I am grateful that now she is getting the respect she’s always deserved for being in my corner.”