By Chris Williams: WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire (31-1, 20 KO’s) made a huge fuss on his twitter today because he was under the impression that his opponent WBA super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (11-0, 8 KO’s) wasn’t going to agree to the extra drug testing that Donaire wants for their April 13th unification fight at the Radio City Music Hall, in New York, New York, USA.
Donaire specifically is insisting that Rigondeaux agree to the extra testing for performance enhancing drugs by the Voluntary An-Doping Agency (VADA). Donaire is the only fighter in boxing that uses the VADA for all of his fights, according to RingTV.
Donaire says he’s not going to show up for their press conference this Thursday to announce the fight unless Rigondeaux agrees to the testing and signs the agreement to be tested. If he doesn’t, Donaire will fight someone else. Donaire says that Rigondeaux verbally told him that he’d be okay with the VADA testing.
In response to Donaire’s tweets, Rigondeaux’s manager Gary Hyde told RingTV that Rigondeaux WILL be agreeing to the VADA testing for the fight and that they WILL be signing the agreement for the testing. Hyde doesn’t understand where Donaire got this information that Rigondeaux wouldn’t be allowing the testing because that’s not the case.
Here’s what Donaire said on his twitter today: “I want you guys to hear it from me first. I am NOT going to NYC for the presser this Thursday bc Rigo is…I will be looking into other opponents with my manager, Cameron Dunkin immediately. It disappoints me that top fighters these days run from everything that will hold professional boxing integrity to its highest standard. I have no obligation to fight ONLY HIM. They are finding every excuse not to sign and delay the start of the testing. I have NOT signed my fight contract yet to fight him so. Rigo’s team verbally agreed to VADA testing both online and in negotiations.”
This sounds like a lot of drama. It doesn’t look like Donaire has anything to worry about as far as Rigondeaux not letting the VADA do the testing. Some boxing fans would interpret this as Donaire not wanting the fight and just looking for a way out because Hyde is saying that Rigondeaux never said he wasn’t going to allow the VADA to test.
Hyde is hoping that Donaire isn’t using this as an excuse to get out of what could be a very dangerous fight for him. Rigondeaux is one of the few fighters that Donaire has faced during his career where you really don’t know who’s going to win.
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