by Steve Lopez– Photo: Chris Farina – Top Rank- The stage is set for Saturday’s Jr. Featherweight showdown between highly favorite WBO Champion Nonito “Filipino Flash” Donaire and Jorge “Travieso” Arce. Wednesday marked the final press conference where fighters addressed the members of the media and to reinforce what to expect in their performances. The co-featured bout will feature Cuba’s up and coming rising star Guillermo Rigondeaux against Thailand’s Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym.
To show boxing’s global presence with fighters and fans, Wednesday’s conference featured a rather interesting mix of fighter backgrounds: Mexico, Cuba, Thailand and the Philippines. It was no surprise that each fighter, with the exception of Donaire, required a translator to get their points across. I had the privilege to attend the conference and captured some visuals and quotes from each fighter:
Guillermo Rigondeax was a man of few words ready to fight.
“Nothing much to say. We’re ready to get this going.”