By Vitali Shaposhnikov: Nontio Donaire has now been in the headlines for a long time. For a while he has been climbing the victor ladder, and now, he has reached a point where he is a world class champion. After his recent win against Jeffrey Mathebula, people are wondering who Donaire will fight next.
Donaire’s resume is a little bit choppy, with questionable opposition in-between his blockbuster performances. Now, two names are orbiting Donaire as possible future competition: Jorge Arce and Guillermo Rigondeaux. Of the two, according to recent statements by Bob Arum, Donaire vs. Arce is ninety percent done.
Interestingly enough, according to a recent poll by The RingTV (http://ringtv.craveonline.com/blog/173751-ringtvcom-poll-result-fans-want-donaire-to-fight-rigondeaux-next), of over 8000 votes, Rigondeaux claimed 37.5 percent, while Abner Mares received 30.1 percent of the votes. Toshiaki Nishioka claimed 17.6 percent of the votes, and lastly Jorge Arce pulled only 12.1 percent of the total votes.
Seems to me that most people either don’t want or care to see Donaire face Arce anytime soon.
When people compare Donaire to his countryman Pacquiao, Rigondeaux get argumentative: “Manny fought the best fighters around when he was moving up through weight classes but this phony, Donaire, is disappointing fans all over the world, especially Filipino people, by running scared from the best fighter at 122 pounds,” stated a frustrated Rigondeaux. (http://fighthype.com/news/article12814.html)
“Donaire is running scared of any super bantamweights with power. He hasn’t knocked out anybody at 122 pounds. One thing is for sure, though, he will get knocked out if he has the guts to fight me,” continued Rigondeaux.
It’s never easy to say when a fighter is truly running away from a challenge or is being forced into a more financially beneficial fight. Top Rank is known for making fights that primarily bring in the most money, and everything else is a distant second.
While I agree that lately Donaire has not been fighting the top available competition, somehow I have trouble believing that he is afraid of Rigondeaux. As a matter of fact Donaire had his own statement to make about Rigo: “I think in the pro level, he’s very inexperienced. He’s never fought a guy like Fernando Montiel or Vic Darchinyan,” proclaimed Donaire. (http://ringtv.craveonline.com/blog/173561-qaa-donaire-wants-to-be-undisputed-junior-featherweight-champ-)
Both fighters share similar opinions of each other, they just have a different way of speaking their thoughts. Despite the fact that most people want Donaire to face Rigondeaux next, I believe that Nonito against Jorge would be a much more exciting fight.