Flyweight

Nonito Donaire (29-1, 18 KO) is officially going to face Japanese legend Toshiaki Nishioka (39-4-3, 24 KO) on Oct. 13 after Jorge Arce (60-6-2, 46 KO) dropped out due to various reasons.

Ring Magazine reports that Donaire-Nishioka will be televised on HBO and take place at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

Mexican legend Arce was originally set to fill the role Nishioka currently resides in, but requests for more money and a September tune-up have effectively taken him out of the fight.

Donaire will defend the WBO and IBF junior featherweight world titles he won against Wilfredo Vazquez (21-2, 18 KO) and Jeffrey Mathebula (26-4-2, 14 KO) respectively.

After winning world titles in three prior divisions—flyweight, super flyweight and bantamweight—Donaire faced Vazquez this past February in his first match at junior featherweight.

Donaire won by split decision, but did not display the type of dominating effort that captured the world's attention when he knocked out Fernando Montiel (48-4-2, 37 KO) with a left hand in Round 2.

In an effort to establish a more impressive performance at junior featherweight, he faced 5'11" Mathebula. The 5'7" Donaire is used to enjoying a height advantage.

Not only did Donaire dominate, he broke Mathebula's jaw in two places in route to an unanimous decision. Donaire and his peers consider Nishioka to be the best in the division.

After defeating Mexican legend Rafael Marquez (40-7, 36 KO) last year, the 36-year-old has been inactive as he awaits a worthy challenger to inspire him to return to the ring.

On the undercard will be undefeated former lightweight champion Brandon Rios (30-0-1, 22 KO), making his junior welterweight debut against Mike Alvarado (33-0, 23 KO) in what will be a slugfest.

Rios and Alvarado come to fight and care nothing for defense. It's safe to predict there will be blood and probably a knockout between the two of them.

Donaire-Nishioka is definitely an upgrade over Donaire-Arce in that it will be seen as a much more competitive and intriguing matchup.

Overall, it's a great looking card and a night to look forward to.

For more Boxing and sports news and analysis, follow me on Twitter @justindavidtate.

It seems as though Nonito Donaire’s fight against his supposed future opponent Jorge Arce might not actually end up happening. Donaire has been steadily gaining popularity in the sport of boxing, and despite being pretty much on top, it has not yet peaked.

When their fight was recently almost announced, many boxing fans had a negative reaction to such a fight, and claimed that while Arce is a great and exciting fighter, it would be an easy fight for Donaire. Guillermo Rigondeaux is the man everyone wants to see Doaire face next, but it doesn’t look like we are likely to see it any time soon.

According to ESPN’s Dan Rafael, Arce might be asking for too much money to face Donaire, which is slowly but surely driving the fight further from actuality, and Toshiaki Nishioka might have to be the replacement:

“I think [Arce's team is] getting cold feet. Top Rank president Todd [duBoef] said they're hemming and hawing and asking for a lot more money now, and that things are changing. I just don't have a good feeling," said Cameron Dunkin, Donaire’s manager.

Donaire is now a big name in boxing, and I am not at all surprised that Arce is asking for more money to fight him. As a matter of fact, they are both well known and respected fighters, but I assume that Donaire is getting paid a much higher fee then Arce, making Jorge fight for more money out of pride 

"Arce came up to me after the fight he had with [Jesus] Rojas. Arce speaks broken English, but you can talk to him, and he said, 'I fight, I fight Nonito.' He said he was definitely fighting him, no problem. He said, 'I fight him, I fight him.' I said, 'Well, let's finally get it done.' Over and over again we've wanted to make this fight, and [the Arce side] says it's the next fight and they never show up," continued Dunkin.

Boxing is as much of a business as business itself. Every promoter is a businessman, and every boxer is part business and part fighter. I think that by playing this game right now, Arce will lose this opportunity and end up fighting someone less important for a lot less money. There is a good pool of fighters for Doanire for pick, and Arce is only one of the many. 

As a matter of fact, the Japanese Toshiaki Nishioka (39-4-3) would put up a far more exciting and explosive fight against Donaire than Arce would. I have heard of Donaire and Nishioka mentioned before, right after Donaire knocked out Montiel. Right away I thought that it would make or a great fight and it might actually happen if Arce keeps up his negotiation process.  

Nonito Donaire (29-1-0) and Mikey Garcia (28-0-0) not only share a friendship, but also a trainer, Robert Garcia. Both are known to be great fighters, and both try to make the fights worth the while for the fans. In a recent interview with Examiner, Garcia mentioned that he would favor a fight against Donaire if their paths happened to cross sometime in the future. 

“If my brother is working with him, I don’t think my brother would want that fight, being that we are both my brother’s fighters. But if it something were we are talking about, if it’s a fight that people want to see and the promoter wants to put on, my brother would most likely tell Donaire to get another trainer. I don’t think my brother is going to have us fight each other while he is still fighting Donaire,” declared Garcia.

Being a trainer for both, Robert would have to let one of his fighters go with a different trainer if they ever had to fight. Donaire and Robert Garcia are very close, and have been unbelievably successful together. I suppose that for Donaire, having Robert in his corner would be a must, thus fighting Garcia is probably not going to be a part of his career. 

“And if he decides to get another trainer and if he wants the fight and if I’m there still in the division and people want to see the fight, yes, we’ll do the fight. That’s not any problem,” continued Garcia.

Looks to me as though Garcia would really like this fight to happen, for obvious reasons and benefits. Beating Donaire would boost anyone’s career to new heights, and for Mikey, it would be a very clever way to go. Robert knows Donaire inside out, and would be fully capable of explaining Nonito’s drawbacks and problems in the ring to Mikey.

In theory, this would be the case, but would Robert Garcia actually do this? Would he lead Mikey to a victory against his top pupil? I think the answer is no. This is exactly why their fight, despite sounding very intriguing, is unlikely to ever come to fruition.

But suppose it did end up coming together and Robert ended up coaching Mikey through this event, who do you think Donaire would end up asking to be his trainer? And who would you pick to win knowing that Donaire’s head coach is in the opposite corner?  

In a recent interview with Examiner.com, Freddie Roach talks about both Nonito Donaire and Guillermo Rigondeaux and how he is impressed with both fighters for their own abilities and achievements.

“If you throw a lazy punch at him, he’s a great counter-puncher, he’s a solid guy. I think he’s one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world today,” said Roach when asked about his thoughts on Donaire.

It is fairly evident that Donaire is to be considered one of the most dangerous and dominating fighters at this time, and I think that most fighters, trainers and boxing fans recognize this without much debate.

Donaire is solid enough that while there is credible competition out there, there isn’t all that much of it left. One of the fighters that Freddie Roach mentioned Donaire should undeniably fight next is Guillermo Rigondeaux:

“I’d like to see him fight the Cuban to be honest, Rigondeaux. Rigondeaux's one of the best fighters I’ve ever trained technique-wise. He’s very skillful, he’s a great counterpuncher, and I think those two guys together would be a great fight. Working the mitts and stuff, when I’m trying to get shots in and show him his mistakes, seeing the openings and so forth, he’s the only fighter in the world that I’ve never hit once. I’ve never caught him. One time I was going to go to the body after a right hand and he stuck his elbow in there and bruised my arm for a month. I’ve never got to him in like six months of training,” declared Roach."

I have seen Rigondeaux fight, and I must admit, despite the fact that he does not have a well-compiled resume, he was more than impressive. I have no problem believing what Roach said about Rigo, and am also one of the people hoping that Donaire will pick him sooner rather than later.

I cannot say that I would expect Rigo to win the fight, but I would not put that outcome on the sidelines. Donaire likes to sometimes play with his competition and experiment during the fight. With Rigo, this should not be an option, and Donaire would have to put in hard work from bell to bell.

Of course, there are other options for Donaire, such as Abner Mares, and even his supposed confirmed foe, Jorge Arce, is not that bad of a choice. Still, for Donaire, there is but one fan approved option right now, Guillermo Rigondeaux.

Nonito Donaire’s stock has skyrocketed after his impressive fifth round TKO of Vic Darchinyan in 2007, but it reached all new heights after the stunning second-round TKO of Fernando Montiel in February of 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Despite the fact that he has gained an army of fans and his popularity in the sport of boxing is through the roof, Nonito’s recent resume is far from impressive. Between the Darchinyan and the Montiel fights, Doanire’s competition has been less than impressive, and his three performances since the Montiel fight have been barely entertaining for the fans that expected much more. Many people wonder why there is such a roller coaster in his ring performances?

According to a recent interview that thaboxingvoice.com held with Donaire, Nonito attributes his lackluster fights to experimentation:

I’ve kind of been experimenting with power and with counter punching a lot and just trying to do something different that I could bring to the table with the much tougher guys. The last three fights [the opponents] weren’t dangerous for me, with a better fighter I’ll be a lot smarter; [it was a fight] you can kind of experiment with and I took the chance to learn from it so now I’m a more [well-rounded] fighter. So when I do fight with someone on top like Mares or Rigondeaux, I’m definitely going to be the [kind of fighter] you’ve always seen. My performance suffered because of the [experimenting] but when I do fight someone who I feel is going to give me a hard time all that knowledge will come in handy.

This is either an excuse or the truth coming from a very brave and, at the same time, naive young champion. Taking chances in losing his title and credibility just for the sake of experimentation is simply unintelligent. If he was curious, a few sessions with his sparring partners could surely feed that curiosity.

Donaire claims that his recent opposition was not at all that dangerous to him, yet he took the time and the vigorous preparation routine to make sure he is absolutely ready for anything that comes his way. And he did, and it did.

While Donaire is a tremendously skilled fighter, his competition is what could be the jagged rock under his feet. If he was able to experiment knowing there is no risk in it, then he was clearly not challenged, and that in itself limits what we know about Donaire as a world class fighter.

When asked about fighting Rigondeaux, the man most boxing fans want to see Donaire face, Nonito said the following:

I would love to make the fight with Rigondeaux; I’ve never had problems with southpaws. He has a lot of amateur experience but there’s only a handful that make it, he apparently made it. I’d rather face Mares, he’s a true fighter. I told Cameron Dunkin, I want to take all the belts, and I want to beat the guys before I move up, I don’t know how high I can raise my body to gain weight. I’m hoping we can get this fight with Rigondeaux, it’s a good fight. I’ve wanted this fight to happen [in place of the last fight], but I presented the names that I wanted to fight but none of those guys came out.

Are we seeing in Donaire the very same curse that has been plaguing Pacquiao? Does he have absolutely no say in what fighter he faces next?

When the people make it clear whom they want Donaire to fight next, and when the public practically demands it, the team should take that into consideration and do all it takes to make that bout a reality. A fight with Rigondeaux would most certainly be a money fight and would undoubtedly provide both fighters with a change to solidify their name in the current boxing state of affairs. 

Tossing Nonito back and forth between suboptimal opposition will not only give him and the fans a false sense of his true abilities, but will mask and prevent his true potential from coming to light. Either Rigondeaux or Mares, doesn’t matter which one, Donaire must not waste time with the little fish and has to take the chance and fight the fights that add to his resume, and potentially, his HOF legacy.

Nonito 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 résumé 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 (via BoxingScene), Donaire vs. Arce is 90 percent done.

Interestingly enough, according to a recent poll by RingTV asking fans who Donaire should fight next—of over 8,000 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 in an interview with FightHype.

"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 in a interview with RingTV.

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. 

Boxing judge Deon Dwarte of South Africa did something unexpected Saturday night when media learned he only gave his compatriot one round credit during the unification fight between Nonito Donaire of the Philippines and Jeffrey Mathebula of South Africa.

Dwarte scored the fight 119-108. American judge Steve Morrow scored it 118-109 while fellow American judge Jonathan Davis had it 117-110

Days before the unification fight, critics say Donaire must score a knockout or a really convincing victory, knowing one of the judges is from South Africa. They were wary of a possible biased judging because of Dwarte's track record in fights where South African fighters were involved.

According to Philippine Daily Inquirer, as soon as the name of the judges were leaked, protests were made on the Internet about the inclusion of a South African judge. But Team Donaire prevailed upon concerned fans by assuring them there will be no repeat of the controversial Pacquiao-Bradley fight officiating.

“You can’t do anything about that anymore,” Cameron Dunkin, Donaire’s manager, told the Inquirer. “California has been doing a great job. Changing officials, if ever they do it, would be too much of a concern for Nonito and that’s the last thing I want to happen.”

“There are two neutral judges, we’ll be fine,” said Dunkin. “There’s only so much a judge can do. And we are counting on our fighter to win the fight anyway.”

In his regular column at Philstar.com, veteran sportswriter Quinito Henson reported Dwarte has a reputation for biased decisions, citing previous fights of South African boxers including Ali Funeka vs.Nate Campbell and Jeffrey Mathebula vs. Celestino Caballero where Dwarte was criticized for his alleged biased decisions. 

But the two bouts cited were close fights unlike the reportedly flawed scoring made by the judges in the recent Pacquiao-Bradley fight which had been widely criticized by the public.

Al S. Mendoza of Sunstar Cebu said, "Dwarte’s scoring was a stunner, not only because it photocopied my verdict of 119-108."

"If all judges in the world are like Dwarte, boxing is here to stay," he added.

Despite his reportedly biased judging involving compatriots, Dwarte made sure he won't be at the receiving end of harsh criticisms for favoring another compatriot. 

Critics say Dwarte's scorecard favoring Donaire by a wide margin despite his reported bias favoring South African fighters, speaks well of his integrity as a judge. 

Some boxing analysts and media personalities who watched the fight at Home Depot Center and on video say their scores were closest, if not the same, with Dwarte's score.

With Dwarte's popular verdict on the recent Donaire-Mathebula fight, some boxing fans say the South African judge should be considered as one of the three judges in the Pacquiao-Bradley rematch—if indeed there will be a rematch.

Fresh off another one-sided, dominating, even humiliating performance on Saturday night at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, Nonito Donaire easily defeated the South African champion and took his IBF belt, making him the unified WBO and IBF 122lbs champion.

For those of us in attendance at the chilly cold outdoor venue Saturday night, we saw an aggressive Donaire attacking, and even toying with the intimidated and much taller Mathebula who was on the back pedal for virtually all 12 rounds of the fight.

Many fight fans in attendance even began to boo Mathebula for essentially running and just going into survival mode. You would even start to wonder how is this fighter even a world champion fighting the way he did?

Or is Nonito simply just that good that once his opponents feel the true power of his punches in the first few rounds, they automatically go into survival mode for the remaining 10 rounds of the fight?

One solution to this is to place The Filipino Flash against a true elite Mexican warrior champion who fights like a true Mexican warrior, meaning they stand toe to toe and are more than willing to trade and go out swinging than to do a power moonwalk for 10 rounds.

During the post-fight interview with Max Kellerman many fight fans ringside were chanting: "Abner Mares," who is the WBC 122lbs champion and who many have been wanting to see fight Donaire ever since they both have been dominating at 118lbs.

Both fighters are now campaigning at 122lbs and are pretty much the biggest names and best at their weight class.

Mares is Mexican-American and has been gaining more and more popularity among the huge Mexican and Mexican-American Los Angeles community where he spent most of his life. Abner is a very skilled fighter who not only knows how to brawl but also how to box very intelligently.

After the fight, many fight fans were mobbing Mares for pictures and autographs.

It appears both Donaire and Mares are more than willing to fight one another, but their rival promoters: Top Rank and Golden Boy may not want to make the fight happen due to their ongoing feud.

Reports are already indicating Donaire's next opponent is pretty much going to be Mexican veteran former champion Jorge Arce, who made a successful career out of fighting in a more traditional toe-to-toe bloody war type of fighting style.

Some of the journalists after the fight at the post-fight conference (which none of the fighters even attended) expressed to me that they feel Donaire needs a real true challenge or at least a fighter who will be willing to stand in front of him and fight. This would mean a prime, elite Mexican warrior would probably make for a much better fight against Donaire than his last three opponents did.

Arce, in his prime, was the type of fighter that would fight on in a bloody mess with his face dripping red and he would often let that blood he saw on his face fuel him to fight even harder and get that "W."

But based on Arce's last performance and confusing result against Jesus Rojas, which in a short two rounds that ended in a no-contest due to unintentional fouls, many began to question if he is still able to be the force he once was. (Check out my interview with the referee of Arce/Rojas Kenny Bayless.)

My personal opinion is, Arce was indeed unable to continue for getting the very hard fouled punches to his groin and the back of the ear which pretty much damaged his equilibrium and hearing so he was not able to continue.

On my way to the post fight conference for Manny Pacquiao vs. Bradley, on June 9, a woman in charge of the conference was trying to convince Arce to just come in quick and only answer two questions. Arce agreed and he still looked in terrible pain from the fouled punches.

Will a healthy Arce provide a better fight against the "Man" at 122lbs Nonito Donaire? I think their fight should be a good entertaining one...for as long as it lasts.

Donaire, especially at this point of their careers, may be too much for the veteran Mexican former champion. Donaire's superior speed, power and counter-punching will eventually most likely stop Arce should they meet in October as it has been discussed.

The only difference is that Arce will go out swinging, as a true Mexican warrior does not run backwards or become a bashful turtle, blocking and forgetting that fans actually paid hard-earned money to watch this fight.

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Unified WBO and IBF bantamweight  titleholder  Nonito "The Filipino Flash" Donaire and former WBO bantamweight champion Jorge "El Travieso" Arce are looking forward to a lucrative fight in October.

Bob Arum, whose Top Rank Promotions handles Donaire, has just confirmed a possible clash between the two bantamweight kings.

Cameron Dunkin, who manages Donaire's boxing career, said he knew Donaire's victory over Jeffrey Mathebula Saturday will lead to a collision with Arce.

“It’s Arce either in October or November. We are committed to fight Arce, we have an agreement, verbal agreement, to fight Arce.” Dunkin said via Marc Anthony Reyes of the Phillipine Daily Inquirer.

 “We are also in verbal agreement to fight another guy and then we start looking at (WBA champion Guillermo Rigondeaux,” Dunkin added.

Dunkin could be referring to Toshiaki Nishioka, who Arum mentioned as Donaire's next opponent after he gets past Arce in October. Arum also mentioned Abner Mares, who's fighting under the umbrella of Golden Boy Promotions.

Boxing insiders say Mares is a long shot due to the long-running feud between Top Rank and Golden Boy over intense business rivalry.

Donaire is looking forward to his first million-dollar purse under Top Rank. In his quite impressive victory over Mathebula Saturday night, he was reported to have pocketed $750,000 as his guaranteed purse according to Leo Reyes of the Digital Journal.

Donaire knocked down Mathebula in the fourth round, but luckily, the South African champion was saved by the bell.

After the knockdown, Mathebula quickly recovered and engaged Donaire with few successful hits. The lanky South African refused to go toe-to-toe with Donaire throughout the fight, opting instead to fight from the outside using his reach and height advantages.

It was a frustrating fight for Donaire as he had to chase Mathebula who was more concerned about blocking Donaire's left hook which put him down in the fourth round.

With the win last Saturday, Donaire seems ripe for a pay-per-view market debut, but, according to Marc Anthony Reyes of the Phillipine Daily Inquirer, Arum said he won't be in it until early next year, possibly against Rigondeaux.

Arum said HBO is not sure yet if the public will to buy PPV subscriptions in the lower divisions particularly in the bantamweight level.

The veteran 32-year-old Arce, who hails from Mexico, has 68 professional fights to his credit, winning 60 and losing six with two draws. He's the second fighter from Mexico has won world titles in four weight divisions.

Arce is an orthodox fighter and stands 5'4" or at least three inches shorter than Donaire's height which is 5'7".

Nonito Donaire once again showed why he is considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world Saturday night. The man known as The Filipino Flash, dominated a tough Jeffrey Mathebula for 12 rounds earning a unanimous decision win. With the victory there is now no doubt that Donaire is the best super bantamweight in the world.

Donaire (28-1, 18 KOs) was brilliant at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, as he strafed Mathebula with hard shots for 12 rounds. He knocked Mathebula down with a hard left hook in the fourth round and generally got the best of exchanges all night long. 

Mathebula effectively used his jab and four-and-a-half inch height advantage to keep Donaire from getting too close and scoring a knockout, but it didn't matter. The Filipino fighter landed the bigger shots all night and it was no surprise that the judges awarded him with the victory. The scorecards read 117-110, 118-109 and 119-108. 

By earning his 28th consecutive win, Donaire picked up the IBF super bantamweight title to join his WBO belt and it appears he now plans to unify all of the 122-pound division's belts. 

While Donaire made things look easy on Saturday night, you shouldn't be fooled; Mathebula is a solid fighter who was a worthy challenger. Donaire won easily because of just how good he is, and the victory showed that is is definitely the class of the 122-pound division.

Donaire and Top Rank promoter Bob Arum likely have their sights set on a group of three guys for his next fight: fellow 122-pound champion Guillermo Rigondeau, bantamweight champion Jorge Arce, who is moving up to 122 pounds, and Toshiaki Nishioka, who recently won a 122-pound championship. 

Whoever Donaire fights next, he will be the favorite as his performance on Saturday only solidified his status atop the 122-pound division.