Donaire won’t be fighting Juanma now; wants Rigondeaux rematch

By Boxing News - 06/16/2013 - Comments

lopez444By Chris Williams: With Juan Manuel Lopez’s 4th round TKO loss to Mikey Garcia last Saturday night, Juanma is now out of the running for a fight against Nonito Donaire (31-2, 20 KO’s).

Donaire was reportedly interested in taking on Juanma next provided that he beat his stable-mate Mikey, but that’s not going to happen now with Juanma having been obliterated by Mikey in a one-sided fashion last night in Dallas, Texas.

Donaire told Philboxing.com that Juanma “Is out” as a potential opponent. “I hope I can get a rematch with Guillermo Rigondeaux,” Donaire said.”

I don’t know why Donaire is saying he hopes he can get a rematch with Rigondeaux. Does he honestly think it would be difficult to make a rematch with the Cuban? They share the same promoter, and it’s not as if the other super bantamweights and lightweights are beating down Rigondeaux’s door to try and get a fight with him.

I don’t know of any fighters in either of those divisions that want any part of the blazing fast Cuban counter-puncher Rigondeaux.

I wonder if Donaire really wants the Rigondeaux rematch or if he’s just saying he does so that boxing fans will think he’s trying to get it so he can try and put things right. When you get beaten as bad as Donaire did by Rigondeaux last May, a lot of boxing fans expect a fighter to try and get a rematch so that he can avenge the loss.

If Donaire didn’t at least try and get another fight with Rigondeaux, I could see a lot of his fans being potentially turned off and see Donaire as afraid of fighting the Cuban for a second time.

Donaire is going to have problems at featherweight if he chooses to move up to that weight class. His weight advantage would be less so in this weight, and he’d had to face guys like Evgeny Gradovich and Daniel Ponce De Leon. Donaire’s promoter Bob Arum would likely not put him in with WBC featherweight champion Abner Mares. I see that as a fight that will never get made because of the Golden Boy Promotions – Top Rank rivalry.



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