NONITO Donaire is prepared for the heat as his defense of the WBO super bantamweight title against Zsolt Bedak of Hungary on Saturday in Cebu City draws near.
Donaire and Bedak will be fighting in outdoor conditions as the world title bout is going to be held at the Cebu City Sports Center. But the Filipino fighter is prepared for the intense heat as he has been training in the country for weeks to acclimatize to the conditions.
‘’Kaya nandito ako early,’’ said Donaire. ‘’When I found out that sa labas ‘yung venue, I had to come as early as possible. Buti nga, I was able to test the heat kasi alam ko na El Nino and it’s hot in Cebu.
Due to El Nino, weather conditions in the Philippines have been nothing but hot, with temperatures rising from 40 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country.
And with the fight being under the bright lights as it will be aired on pay-per-view in the United States and Canada and on ABS-CBN networks local and international, the temperatures expect to be hotter come fight night.
“The big difference is that the heat is tremendous especially being outside during the night, and the lights in onto us. Parang sauna pa rin ‘yan,” said Donaire.
Donaire said he has been sparring and training under sweltering conditions inside several gyms to prepare for the heat. At first, Donaire said his body took a toll early but has now adjusted to the conditions due to his early preparations.
‘’That is why we did sparring in the heat to figure out ‘yung reaction ng katawan ko. From the beginning, I was vomiting a little bit. My body was reacting to survival mode. Nalaman namin na it drains you of everything that you have in your body if you are not prepared. Kung papawisan ng husto, before hand, dapat prepared ‘yung body ko,’’ said Donaire.
The five-division world champion stakes his WBO crown and his 36-3 (23 knockouts) record against Bedak, who has only lost once in 26 fights.
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