A Philippines native who arrived in America when he was 11 years old, THE RING’s No. 1-rated and WBC/WBO bantamweight titleholder Nonito Donaire was the guest of honor at a diplomatic reception on Wednesday at the Philippines Consulate in New York.

The 28-year-old Donaire (26-1, 18 KOs) visited Mario Lopez de Leon, Jr., Consul General of The Republic of The Philippines.

Donaire will face WBO junior bantamweight beltholder Omar Narvaez (35-0, 23 KOs) on Saturday night in his first-ever performance at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Donaire will pursue his 26th-straight victory against the unbeaten Navaez in the HBO-televised bout, and is coming off a second-round knockout of former titleholder Fernando Montiel.

Lem Satterfield can be reached at [email protected]