Despite being in the Philippines for less than a week, famed Filipino boxer Nonito Donaire devoted time to help give 100 families a reason to be happy this 2018.
The international boxer, who is scheduled to fight against Carl Frampton at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland on April 21, made a detour to Iloilo after arriving in the Philippines on January 3.
He arrived in the town of Lemery, two hours from Iloilo city to assist the turnover of 100 homes to Typhoon Yolanda survivors courtesy of the Greg Secker Foundation, before flying back out to the United States the next night, January 6.
“They don’t really see celebrities who go out there. It was in the far place from the main cities, they didn’t have much out there and it was the last place a celebrity would come in. They were able to see that. It was incredible, they were ecstatic,” he said in an interview with Rappler.
English businessman Greg Secker established the non-profit foundation that bears his name back in 2010, to positively improve the quality of life of people around the world.
Donaire is already in Las Vegas, training for the bout with his long-time ally Michael Bazzell and his wife Rachel.
Carl Frampton is a worthy adversary, and was voted the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) Fighter of the Year in 2016 – the same award Donaire won for 2012.
Frampton is currently 24-1 with 14 knockouts, while Donaire’s record stands at 38-4 with 24 knockouts.