Arum wants Donaire-Rigondeaux by end of April

By Boxing News - 01/16/2013 - Comments

donaire23By Chris Williams: Bob Arum of Top Rank wants to match his two stable fighters WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire (31-1, 20 KO’s) and Guillermo Rigondeaux (11-0, 8 KO’s) together by the end of April this year. This would come right before Donaire’s time off from boxing for the summer. Donaire’s wife is pregnant and he wants to spend time with her.

Arum said to boxingtalk.com “Before the end of Aril, it will be either Guillermo Rigondeaux, probably Rigondeaux unless something could get done with Abner Mares.”

Don’t hold your breath waiting and hoping for Arum to put the fight together between Donaire and Mares because that’s not likely to happen April, May or any month in 2013. Arum says he’s given Golden Boy Promotions a proposal for a Mares-Donaire fight, but who knows what that proposal was. If it’s something ridiculous, like Golden Boy lending Mares to Arum in order to get the fight, then it’s not going to be accepted. Golden Boy will want to be involved in the fight.

I’ll be just as much surprised if Arum can match Donaire against Rigondeaux because I just don’t think Donaire has a lot of interest in facing him. Look at the guys that Donaire has been facing instead of Rigondeaux – Jorge Arce, Toshiaki Nishioka, Jeffrey Mathebula and Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. Those are all fighters that Rigondeaux would likely easily beat. I could see Rigondeaux knocking out all four of those fighters.

I don’t think Donaire will change with the type of fighters he’s been facing to suddenly take on someone that is actually capable beating him like Rigondeaux. I think Donaire will instead either fight one of his contenders or move up to featherweight to fight someone like WBA featherweight champion Chris John.

Boxing fans would love to see Donaire fight a live body like Rigondeaux, but I don’t think that’s going to happen in 2013. I think it might happen in three or four years when Rigondeaux is 35 or 36 and starting to lose his skills but not until then. He’s too dangerous.



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