Donaire-Arce fight a done deal

THE WOUND on the bandaged knuckle in his left hand still needed to fully heal, but Top Rank promoter   Bob Arum has already sealed a fourth and last fight this year  for Nonito Donaire Jr.

Nonito injured his knuckles two Sundays ago in his  fight against Toshiyaki Nishioka  of Japan whom he defeated by  TKO at the Home Depot in Carson, California.

This is not the first time that the knuckles bled during a fight but Nonito is unperturbed.

“My skin is so thin it easily bruises but it also heals fast,” he said during a press conference tendered for him by ABS-CBN yesterday at Annabelle’s Restaurant in Tomas Morato.

He said he will be ready for his Dec. 15 fight in Mexico against Mexican Jorge Arce, whom he describes as “tough and matapang.”

“It’s not as if I will have to start training for  the Arce fight,” said Nonito who pointed out that he’s in shape because his training has been continuous.

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Nonito arrived in Manila yesterday morning with wife Rachel to launch  a Visayan movie where he co-stars with Gloria Sevilla and  another Visayan actress.

“‘Palad Ta ang Nagbuot’ ( Our Fate Decides) will mark the rebirth of Visayan movies after 10 years,” Nonito informed us.

“In this flick you’ll see  a Donaire dancing, singing, crying and making you laugh,” he added.

The Donaires return to the United States after the launch to start his training regimen.

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You can’t help but admire a cager like June Mar Fajardo.

Not because he turns in double double-digit performances  since the start of the season or because  at 6-foot-10 he towers over everyone else.  He has been  playing way beyond expectations despite certain burdens he’s been carrying.

First it was a boil that he had to endure but could do nothing about except wait until it ripens and ruptures.

The thing is,  the rupture had to happen at a most inopportune time and place—the Araneta Coliseum during a Petrom game.

According to a teammate, an excision had to be done right then and there inside the  court.

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Very recently it was in the papers  and social media that the Cebuano cager had to undergo  scrotal surgery to remove a clot that formed after repeated trauma. It turned out, on examination, that June Mar has been carrying a heavy load in-between his legs for an undetermined period of time, which was caused by inguinal hernia.

When he started playing in the PBA—because he was so good, players from the opposing team  intimidate and try to limit his productivity by giving him the traditional baptism of fire. June Mar got it left and right and quite a number below the belt.

But it may have turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the doctors discovered the hernia.

After the surgery,  June Mar must be about a pound lighter.

Despite the heavy load he used to carry, his leaping ability was untarnished. You can imagine how much higher he can jump now.