Donaire’s obstacles part of ‘God’s plan’

Strange things seem to be happening to Nonito Donaire, through no fault of his own.

Donaire won the WBA interim super flyweight title in August with a unanimous decision over Rafael Concepcion, who weighed in 41/2 pounds over the 115-pound limit and therefore was ineligible to win the belt.

While visiting family and friends in the Philippines a few weeks later, Donaire was hospitalized after reportedly contracting dengue fever from a mosquito bite. It kept him out of the ring for the rest of 2009.

He recovered from the illness and was set to face Gerson Guerrero tonight in the main event of the Latin Fury-Pinoy Power card at the Las Vegas Hilton. But Guerrero flunked an eye exam Wednesday and could not be medically cleared to compete.

So Donaire (22-1, 14 knockouts) will defend his belt against Manuel Vargas, a former 105-pound champion whom Donaire knows virtually nothing about.

Weird circumstances?

"It's God's plan," Donaire said. "You learn from it and try to do the best that you can."

Donaire said he'll carry a fear of the unknown into the ring tonight, even though he is bigger than Vargas (26-4-1, 11 KOs).

"There's a lot of danger," Donaire said. "I made my body memorize the movements and flaws Guerrero had. My body would have automatically known what to do. But now I have to change my mentality and try to find the weaknesses of my opponent. I have to trust my corner to see things I may not see."

If he learned anything from the Concepcion fight, Donaire said, it's not to worry about things he has no control over.

"The last fight taught me not to let things get to me," he said. "I let everything bother me (against Concepcion), and I did not fight a very good fight. This time, I'm going to go with the flow."

Should Donaire retain his title tonight, he hopes to fight twice more at 115 pounds: a rematch with Vic Darchinyan and then a bout against Jorge Arce.

Donaire said ultimately he would like to move up to bantamweight and face WBO champion Fernando Montiel, who will defend his belt on tonight's card against Ciso Morales in the co-main event.

Donaire and Darchinyan faced each other in 2007, and Donaire scored a sensational fifth-round knockout to take Darchinyan's IBF and IBO flyweight titles. Darchinyan has been clamoring for a rematch ever since.

"He's like a little Chihuahua, barking and barking," Donaire said. "You just want to tell him to shut up."

Donaire's manager, Cameron Dunkin, said there's no need to move to bantamweight right away.

"There are still fights at 115 that make sense," he said. "He's real high on fighting Darchinyan again. He's right there at 115, so it makes sense to go right now."

First bell for the card is at 4 p.m., with the pay-per-view portion beginning at 6 p.m.

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