Idle hands bedevil champion

Nonito Donaire is used to staying busy.

The idea of not stepping in the ring for nearly a year repulses him. If he had his way, he would fight every other month.

But things have a way of changing when a fighter becomes a world champion and signs with a big-time promoter. Suddenly, every move is cautious, calculating.

Donaire (19-1, 12 knockouts) last fought 11 months ago, scoring an eighth-round technical knockout of Luis Maldonado to retain the IBF flyweight title Donaire won in July 2007.

On Saturday, he defends his belt against South Africa's Moruti Mthalane at Mandalay Bay Events Center. The card also pits super welterweights Matt Vanda and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in a rematch of Chavez's controversial 10-round split-decision victory July 12.

"It's been really tough," Donaire said of his hiatus. "You get a fight; it gets canceled. It's heartbreaking. ... We've been in the gym for two months preparing, and we're getting everything back."

Donaire used his downtime productively. He signed with Top Rank in March and got married in August.

Now, he gets to fight on a big pay-per-view card in Las Vegas.

"It's exciting to have all of this happen. But it's also scary. There's so much on the line," said Donaire, a 25-year-old who was born and raised in General Santos City in the Philippines but has lived in San Leandro, Calif., since he was 10.

It will be an easy night if Donaire can repeat his July 2007 performance against Vic Darchinyan. Donaire nailed Darchinyan with a perfect left hook to the head that sent the champion sprawling to the canvas in the fifth round of their fight in Bridgeport, Conn. The referee stopped the fight moments later, and the Philippines had another world champion to go with Manny Pacquiao.

"I knew it was a good shot," Donaire said. "I don't think he ever saw it coming."

If he wins Saturday, Donaire probably will end his reign at 111 pounds. Like Pacquiao, Donaire wants to hold titles in several weight classes, and he wants to go as high as 130 pounds before he is through.

"We'll see," Donaire said. "But I want to stay in this game a long time, and I want to reach as high a weight class as I can. When I'm not training, I'm walking around at 145."

Mthalane would like to make Donaire's decision to leave the flyweight division an easy one.

"He's a good boxer with good speed and good power, but I've seen a few flaws that I think I can exploit," said Mthalane (22-1, 15 KOs), who is from Durban and will be fighting outside of South Africa for the first time. "This is a big step for me. But if I want to be a world champion, it's a step I have to take."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.