Note: This story appears in the June 2011 issue of THE RING magazine, which is available now on newsstands or in our new digital format.

Although a boxer stands alone in the ring, Nonito Donaire recognizes that it is a team sport. Besides his supreme skill, the three-division titleholder has put together a team that places him far beyond most, if not all challengers.

Donaire’s trainer, Robert Garcia, is considered to be one of today’s best. He understands a trainer does not have to force his will upon his fighter to see positive results. Garcia, who has trained Fernando Vargas, Antonio Margarito and Brandon Rios, began working with Donaire before his December 2010 fight against Wladimir Sidorenko. Although no one can dispute the significance of a great trainer, the 28-year-old Donaire enters the ring with four other great minds alongside him:

Former BALCO chief Victor Conte, who once assisted athletes in performance enhancing drug use and is currently advancing anti-doping policies, had a fateful meeting with Donaire early last year. “Nonito’s wife’s parents and I live in the same city,” said Conte. “He was sitting in a local bank filling out a deposit slip, and the bank manager introduced us.”

Conte now runs SNAC (Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning), a respected legal nutritional supplement program. Following thorough research, Donaire asked Conte to assist him with a supplement regimen.

“Nonito had the worst diet in the world,” said Conte. “He would go all day without eating, perhaps until 4:30 PM, and no one would remind him. I designed a nutritional program with supplements as well as a meal replacement.”

Donaire also undergoes blood testing to insure an optimal balance between training and recovery intervals.

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