By Chris Williams: WBA super flyweight interim champion Nonito Donaire (23-1, 15 KO’s) will be taking on recently defeated Hernan Marquez (27-1, 20 KO’s) in a 12 round bout at the Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot, San Juan, Puerto Rico. There must be a shortage of fighters to step in the ring with Donaire, because it’s hard to understand why or for what reason Marquez is being given a shot at Donaire’s WBA interim title when he was beaten soundly in his last fight against Richie Mepranum in March.

It seems like a bit of a reach to put in a fighter that was just beaten to fight Donaire. However, that’s nothing. In Donaire’s last bout in February, his opponent Manuel Vargas had to come up in weight three entire divisions to fight Donaire. It wasn’t a fight, as you would guess. Donaire wiped out the much smaller Vargas in three rounds in a fight that was never even somewhat competitive.

Donaire, 27, should be able to by the hard-punching Marquez on Saturday night without any problems. Marquez hits hard, but doesn’t do well against boxers and should find himself getting a boxing lesson by Donaire if everything goes alright. Donaire says he wants to move up next to bantamweight for his next bout and after that super bantamweight. It’s hard to imagine Donaire having any luck in either of those divisions because he had all he could handle in his fight against bantamweight slugger Rafael Concepcion in August last year.

Donaire won the fight, but it was a lot closer than the final scores would indicate and Donaire took a great deal of punishment from Concepcion. Donaire’s power had no effect on Concepcion, who walked right through hooks like they were nothing and punished him with huge shots to the head. To survive, Donaire had to run around the ring the final around to get the win.

I had Donaire barely winning. After the fight, Donaire looked pretty well beaten up by Concepcion. If Donaire is thinking of moving up in weight to the bantamweight division, he might want to think hard about that, because if he’s struggling against the likes of Concepcion, I’d had to think what WBC/WBO bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel would do to Donaire. I see him slaughtering him and sending him packing his bags back to the super flyweight or maybe even the flyweight divisions.

In the big fight on the card, WBO featherweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez (28-0, 25 KO’s) will be defending his title against challenger Bernabe Concepcion (28-3-1, 15 KO’s) in what appears to be a huge mismatch. Concepcion, 22, is younger than the 26-year-old Lopez, but shorter at 5’4,” slower, weaker and not as light on his feet. Lopez will probably do whatever he wants with Concepcion and give him a bad beating.

Concepcion was getting schooled last year in his fight against recent Lopez victim Steven Luevano in August 2009, when Concepcion blasted Luevano with a perfect right hand moments after the 7th round had ended. It was a picturesque late punch, a textbook version of how to clobber your opponent after the round had ended. I don’t know if Luevano was hurt or not, but he stayed down for a long time flat on his back as Concepcion was immediately disqualified by referee Jay Nady.