Donaire trains at night for Arce

HOUSTON—The effectivity of Nonito Donaire Jr.’s new training schedule will be tested on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) when he dangles his WBO super bantamweight crown against Mexican Jorge Arce at Toyota Center here.

Saying he’s trying to acclimatize his body to fight night, Donaire decided to train solely at night in the homestretch of training camp.

“Although in the training camp we trained in the afternoon, the week of the fight we try to train at night,” Donaire said. “So you’re awake at the time (of the fight). You already know the schedule of your body  when it comes to it. You sleep in the morning, you wake up at night and you train at night.”

According to Donaire, if he trains in the morning, he gets sleepy by night time. And that’s what he’s avoiding when fight night comes.

Interviewed by Manila-based sportswriters at the lobby of Hyatt Regency here, Donaire, who came from shopping with wife Rachel, said he’ll do light training Thursday night (Friday in Manila).

“I’ll just shadow box for about 45 minutes to sweat it out,” said Donaire, who’ll be gunning for his 30th straight win in 11 years and, perhaps, the Fighter of the Year title.

Fresh off his nine-round demolition of Japanese champion Toshiaki Nishioka on Oct. 16, Donaire said the proximity of the fight did worry him a bit.

Starting training camp only in the second week of November, Donaire logged in only around five and a half weeks of training under the supervision of Undisputed Gym Owner Brian Schwartz and strength and conditioning coach Michael Bazzel.

“I kind of worried about it at first because it’s just five weeks [of training],” said Donaire. “But it turned to be OK because I just fought, my body is okay. I got back into shape right away.”

So fit was Donaire, who runs regularly, that when he returned to the United States from a one week visit to the Philippines and another to Japan, he sparred right away.

“I want to test where I am in terms of my stamina.”

To protect the right knuckles that got bloodied in his bout with Nishioka, Donaire said he was just making slapping positions against his sparmates. He totaled around 75 rounds of sparring.

As to his weight, Donaire foresees no problem for Friday’s official weigh in at PlazAmericas Mall.

“Right now I may be 3 lb over, but I’m still eating so it might be four pounds over. But when I train I go 2 lbs under,” said Donaire. “After weigh-in and during fight I want to be 127 or 128.”