Donaire puts reputation on line by working with BALCO figure

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Nonito Donaire insists tonight’s WBC-WBO bantamweight championship fight against Fernando Montiel is a make-or-break moment in what has been a highly successful boxing career.

Donaire has trained to respond to the challenge that awaits him at Mandalay Bay Events Center, working with Victor Conte for the past 10 months to maximize the strength, speed and power of the fighter’s 118-pound body.

“I’m in the best shape of my life, no question,” Donaire (25-1, 17 knockouts) said on the eve of his showdown with Montiel (44-2-2, 34 KOs). “I’m faster, stronger than I’ve ever felt, and I’m ready to give a great performance.”

But will he be clean?

By associating with Conte, Donaire risks having his performance questioned.

Conte’s dealings in designer steroids led to his four-month stint in prison in 2005 after a lengthy federal probe into his infamous Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative and tarnished the reputations of world-class athletes and Conte clients Barry Bonds, Marion Jones and Shane Mosley.

Donaire bristled at the notion that he might be cheating or that Conte is doing anything illegal with him.

“People can doubt what they want,” the 28-year-old Donaire said. “But I know I have nothing to hide. They can test me all they want. I’m totally clean.

“I always seek to be better, to be stronger. Victor knows that. I’m in better shape for this fight than before.”

The two have been working together for 10 months after a mutual friend introduced them.

“If I work with somebody, I have to be 100 percent for him, and he has to be 100 percent for me,” Conte told Yahoo! Sports. “We’ve gotten to that point, and there has been no doubt, no wavering about us working together.”

In his previous fight, Donaire dominated Wladimir Sidorenko on Dec. 4, flooring the former WBA bantamweight champion in the second round and stopping him in the fourth.

Donaire looks even stronger since that fight. He credits a strength training program with one of Conte’s coaches, Remi Korchemny. They have worked on Donaire’s speed rather than focusing on endurance.

“It’s all muscle twitch,” Donaire said, explaining the sprint work he does rather than the traditional roadwork that most boxers do. “If you look at the way I fight, it’s all a burst, all a sprint. I’m not there to run six miles. It’s a fast muscle twitch. It’s similar to how I punch in the ring.”

Perhaps that’s why Donaire said he wants to end the fight with a knockout rather than go all 12 rounds with Montiel. “I don’t think it will get that far,” Donaire said.

His boxing trainer, Robert Garcia, said he has Donaire ready for 12 rounds in case he can’t stop Montiel earlier.

“I know Nonito has the power to knock out Montiel,” Garcia said. “But we want him to fight a smart fight. We want him to wear (Montiel) down, pick him apart, then finish him.”

A win would give Donaire a third world title in three weight classes. But win or lose, he probably won’t be a bantamweight for much longer. Donaire has expressed interest in moving up to featherweight, then super featherweight and perhaps as heavy as lightweight, much the way Manny Pacquiao did.

“My body’s still growing, even though I’m 28,” said Donaire, who made the 118-pound limit at Friday’s weigh-in, as did Montiel. “I think I can be comfortable fighting at a higher weight.”

But for now Donaire’s focus is on being the best bantamweight tonight at Mandalay Bay.

“(Montiel) is the most complete fighter I have ever faced and the smartest fighter I have ever faced,” Donaire said. “One mistake from me or one mistake from him, and it’s going to be over.”

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