By James Slater – Right now, after that scorcher of a KO win on Saturday night, 28-year-old Nonito Donaire is the hottest thing in boxing; even hotter than his countryman Manny Pacquiao. Fans still love and respect Pac-Man, but his choice of next opponent, Shane Mosley, has left some fans cool. Donaire, however, is at his absolute peak and willing to take on all comers, risky or not.
That said, and with fans eager to see more of the kind of scintillating action “The Filipino Flash” provided at the weekend, there is already debate about who the WBC/WBO bantamweight king should fight next.
Promoter Bob Arum has gone on record as saying he believes his newest, brightest star can go as high as 126, even 130-pounds. If this turns out to be true, the current 118-pounder who has already captured belts at flyweight, super-fly and bantam, will have absolutely no trouble at all in finding himself a number of potential super-fights..
At 5’6,” Donaire is a hair shorter than Pacquiao, and we all know how high the incredible Pac-Man has been able to go and fight successfully. Maybe Donaire can indeed go up as high as will be needed for him to grab major belts at an amazing six weight classes. But for now, the potential superstar needs to find that next foe. Who should he fight?
Donaire did say he’d like to win another belt at bantamweight before adding any further pounds, and two big and possibly great fight that spring to mind for him at 118 are ones with the winner of the Joseph Agbeko-Anner Mares clash and/or the winner of the Vic Darchinyan-Yonnhy Perez match-up.
Should Darchinyan win against Perez, Donaire could get himself a long awaited return with the man he flattened in five-rounds in 2007. While if Perez won, Donaire would get the chance to stop a fighter who has never been KO’d in his entire 22-fight pro career. Imagine how big a Donaire-Darchinyan II could be. And how impressed would you be if Doniare fought Perez and put his lights out in dramatic style? No doubt, both match-ups make sense. But will Darchinyan or Perez want anything to do with Donaire?
It could actually prove to be a problem for Donaire to get the big fights he wants from now on; as awesome as he’s looking. But another good fight for him at 118 would be a bout with the winner of that other bantamweight tournament clash; between Agbeko and Mares. Here again, Donaire would, in facing the winner, be going in with a guy has never been stopped. Big points Nonito would earn indeed if he were able to do to either guy what he did to Fernando Montiel.
Looking even further ahead, to super-bantam, featherweight and beyond, Donaire could wind up squaring off with major talents such as Toshiaka Nishioka, the accomplished WBC champ at 122, or unbeaten Puerto Rican, Wilfredo Vazquez Junior, the current WBO ruler at super-bantam. Either of these match-ups would prove enticing to the fans.
And if Doniare proves he can carry his speed and power up with him that far, maybe he will one day go in with the likes of Juan Manuel Lopez and Yuriorkis Gamboa at 126-pounds! Imagine the sheer excitement either of those two fights would cause. But is even thinking about such match-ups a case of jumping the gun and urging Donaire to bite off more than he can chew?
Right now, yes. But if he can clean up at bantam and super-bantam, Donaire will have to go even higher to satisfy the few remaining critics he will have. And after that there may be even more glory for the humble Filipino at super-featherweight. Wow!
But in his next fight – and to answer the question posed in the title of this article – I think Donaire Vs. the Darchinyan-Perez winner would make a great choice.