Flyweight

Nonito Donaire (27-1, 18 KO) and Brandon Rios (29-0-1, 22 KO) have targets on their backs as Cuban boxers Guillermo Rigondeaux (9-0, 7 KO) and Yuriorkis Gamboa (21-0, 16 KO) set out to destroy them.

Donaire is the former WBC and WBO bantamweight (118 lbs) world champion and budding boxing superstar who moves up to Rigondeaux's weight division of super bantamweight (122 lbs) in February.

Donaire has already stated how he wouldn't fight Rigondeaux because he says his style is boring and Rigondeaux has fired back with death threats. According to Boxing Scene, Rigondeaux said the following:

"If he doesn't want a Narvaez fight, I will agree to a 15-foot ring. This guy is not a real man, he's a traitor to Top Rank. Stop hiding behind your manager and your wife. I'm ready to fight in the summer. If Top Rank allows me to get a fight with this traitor, I will put him to sleep. After I get done with this traitor, he'll be shooting pictures permanently."

The reference to Donaire shooting pictures is a reference to his hobby of photography. Rigondeaux also referenced Donaire's heavily criticized previous opponent Omar Narvaez (35-1-2, 19 KO).

Narvaez opted for a defense that made sure he wasn't knocked out vs. an actual effort to win against Donaire resulting in what was widely considering a boring display.

Rigondeaux isn't the only Cuban calling out a fellow Top Rank fighter. Gamboa, an Olympic gold medalist like Rigondeaux, wants to move up to face popular Mexican fighter Rios immediately.

Top Rank boss Bob Arum originally wanted Gamboa, a former featherweight (126 lbs) world champ, and Rios to face different opponents on the same card to hype up a showdown between each other.

That plan fell through. Gamboa wants Rios next despite the fact he would have to leap two weight classes to meet Rios at lightweight (135 lbs).

Gamboa said this about the move up in weight:

"I've done that all my life. I became a world champion doing it. I've been up and down in weight all my life. I can go up and I can go down. It really doesn't matter."

Gamboa has previously fought at super featherweight (130 lbs) in 2008 and a few matches at lightweight (135 lbs) in 2007 before settling down in featherweight (126 lbs) from 2009 until now.

Rigondeaux and Gamboa seem determined to become stars against their Top Rank counterparts Donaire and Rios. Whether these fights come to fruition is not known at this time.

What is known as that the calls have been made, now it's time for someone to answer.

While Nonito Donaire doesn't get as much hype as Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather Jr, Ring Magazine ranks him as the fourth best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. The Filipino Flash helped prove that point by defeating Omar Narvaez on Saturday.

The loss was the first of Narvaez's 11-year career and was also the first time he fought in the United States. After the match, Donaire expressed his displeasure with El Huracan's defensive style, which caused the fans inside Madison Square Garden to get a little rowdy (via Yahoo! Sports).

“I was bored,” Donaire said. “When I know that the guy wouldn’t open up, I kind of got bored because no matter what I opened my hands, I opened my face and the least you can do is hit me with a jab, hit me with something.”

It was just the second fight out of Donaire's last 11 that didn't end in a knockout. He did defend the WBC and WBO Bantamweight World Titles in the process, which he won with a TKO of Fernando Montiel in February.

The Filipino Flash hasn't lost since March of 2001 when he came up on the wrong end of a unanimous five-round decision against Rosendo Sanchez. He defeated Saul Santoyo three months later as has been on a roll ever since.

The Boxing Scene reports Donaire's next bout could come against Jorge Arce as he wants to move up to the super bantamweight division. Arce is 57-6-2 and hasn't lost a fight since Simphiwe Nongqayi beat him by unanimous decision in 2009.

That match will likely serve as a precursor to a mid-2012 battle with Toshiaki Nishioka, who is currently taking some time off after knocking off Rafael Marquez earlier this month.

Both fights will help Donaire get more widespread exposure as he begins to take on more high-profile opponents. And after his great run, it will be well deserved praise.

Nonito Donaire has built a reputation as one of the most exciting boxers in the world. His career record is 27-1, with 10 of his last 12 wins coming via (T)KO. In his fight on Saturday night with Omar Narvaez, though, he put forth one of his worst performances. 

Even though the fight failed to live up to the lofty standards that Donaire has built his entire career around, he scored an easy decision victory. In fact, it was a "perfect" score from all three judges, 120-108. The way that he did it has left a lot of fans and analysts feeling numb. 

As Dan Rafael of ESPN.com wrote, this was probably the worst possible outcome that Donaire could have had in this fight, with the obvious exception of losing.

"Yes, Donaire won, but this was not the sort of star-making performance he or anyone on his team wanted to see as he prepares to move up to junior featherweight for his next fight—even if it was not his fault," Rafael wrote.

"'It was very frustrating,'" Donaire said. "'The fans didn't deserve this. My first time on the East Coast, Madison Square Garden. I apologize deeply for this. I wanted a knockout. It happens. He was definitely disappointing.'

"It was bad. So bad that, besides the booing from the crowd at various times throughout the fight, Donaire told trainer Robert Garcia while on the stool after the 11th round, 'I'm bored.'"

Donaire's popularity was growing in this country, thanks in large part to the way that he has performed in the ring. Of course, his close-knit relationship with Manny Pacquiao helped too. 

As any fight fan knows, one bad fight can sully any fighter's reputation. Even though the reason the fight was a dud had nothing to do with Donaire, he is the one who will suffer as a result. 

Narvaez fought like a man who did not want to be there. He was out of sorts from the time the first bell rang, and his performance over the course of 12 rounds left a lot to be desired. 

Even though Donaire did not have the dynamite knockout against Narvaez that we have seen him have, he gave his all in a fight with someone who wanted nothing to do with him. But that does not matter. All that matters is his fight was bad and it will take time before the fans are back on his side. 

Saturday's bout between Nonito Donaire and Omar Narvaez was yet another main event that failed to live up to expectations, proving that boxing desperately needs a major bout between premier fighters to get some excitement injected into the sport.

The main event on Saturday was arguably the worst fight of the night, which cannot happen.

What boxing needs is a Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao bout, which we may never see, but even if those two don't square off in a historic match, each of them needs to fight more.

They are two prominent fighters that even the casual fan who rarely watches boxing would feel compelled to watch fight.

Another idea that would help is having the entire night's card be made up of talented fighters, and not just a few big names.

Having exciting boxers who are trying to prove themselves in the sport with so much to gain would make for really exciting fights, and would raise the level of interest in boxing.

The amount of lackluster fights, combined with controversial endings (such as Mayweather's victory versus Ortiz), proves boxing needs a massive fight to not only satisfy the hardcore fans, but attract the causal fans who would surely turn in to see a big fight with marquee names.

The reason people love to watch boxers like Pacquiao is because he gives you at least one moment in every fight where you're like, "did you see that!" He also turns in some knockouts of the year nearly quite often.

Mayweather and Pacquiao give us the sensational and exciting moments the sport of boxing thrives on, and without them, there aren't enough of those highlight moments.

Boxing needs a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight badly, but more importantly it needs other fighters who are able to step up and become the stars and dominant forces that Mayweather and Pacquiao currently are.

As Manny Pacquiao ages into his mid-30s and shows greater and greater interest in his outside-the-ring activities, the boxing hype machine has already begun its search for "The Next Manny Pacquiao."  It didn't take long for Nonito Donaire to become the consensus candidate for this designation, due in part to his success in the ring, but in larger part to his Filipino nationality.

After Donaire's most recent fight, the hype machine may start looking elsewhere.  

Like Pacquiao before him, Donaire has been working his way up the weight classes, and after defeating bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel, announced that he would fight Omar Narvaez in Narvaez's first fight in the United States.  Narvaez, a 36 year old former Olympian southpaw, is a respected boxer who came into the fight with an undefeated record and offered Donaire the chance to build his credibility in his first fight in New York City by dueling with a respected fighter. 

According to the scorecards of all three judges, Donaire won every round in the 12 round fight. Though he connected solidly on very few punches, Donaire's victory was a result of an overly defensive fight by Narvaez that caused sporadic boos to reign down on the fighters from the New York fight fans.  Narvaez's hands were in a perpetual block position from bell to bell, content to prevent Donaire from knocking him out, rather than attempting to win himself.  His comments in his corner caught by cameras confirmed this attitude. 

For his part, Donaire remained relatively aggressive throughout, but was unable to make any significant impact on Narvaez.  This was due in large part to Narvaez never opening up enough to allow Donaire to land a punch, but also due to Donaire showing little creativity in forcing openings.  Narvaez was content to allow Donaire to win the fight, and Donaire played it safe and went along with Narvaez's strategy.  While this patience showed maturity, it does not bode well for future fights against boxers with defensive talent equal to Narvaez who aren't afraid to throw a few punches.

At the end of the 11th round, Donaire was heard telling his corner "I'm bored."  He wasn't the only one.  

This Saturday night, Nonito "The Filipino Flash" Donaire (26-1, 18 KOs) will be defending his WBC/WBO World Bantamweight 118-lb titles against current WBO junior bantamweight 115-lb champion from Argentina, Omar "El Huracan" Narvaez (35-0-2, 19 KOs). This will be taking place in New York City at Madison Square Garden's WaMu Theatre and on HBO's Boxing After Dark (starting at 10:30 p.m. ET).

Donaire, who is at his prime at 28, is on a nine-year-and-25-bout winning streak and is making his first fighting appearance in New York.

Narvaez, who is a 36-year-old veteran, is making his U.S. and HBO debut. His 37-fight career has taken place in Argentina with a few fights in Europe. He is undefeated with two draws; his last draw was against Andrea Sarritzu in 2003.

Donaire, who was born in the Philippines and grew up in San Leandro, California, has a solid, strong, formidable boxing team in promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank, trainer Robert Garcia and manager Cameron Dunkin. His team is looking to take him and his extradionary boxing skills to the next level. This is a major pay-per-view attraction.

In Donaire's last fight in February of this year, he knocked out Fernando Montial in the second round. In his previous fights, he had knockout wins over Vladimir Sydorenko in 2010 and Vic Darchinyan in 2007.

Narvaez was a former Olympian for the Argentine team in 1996 and 2000, had amateur wins over Dominican Joan Guzman in 1996 and Canadian Steve Molitor in 1999 and lost to Ukrainian Vladimir Sydorenko in 2000, whom Donaire KO'd in 2010 as a pro.

In his last three fights this year, Narvaez has defended his WBO junior bantamweight 115-lb title in Argentina defeating—by unanimous decision—Victor Zaleta, Cesar Seda and William Urina this past June.

Standing at 5'3" Narvaez has a reputation of taking his fights the distance and pulling out with the victory, saying he is "prepared and ready." He will be moving up in weight from 115 lbs to 118 lbs.

Donaire, at 5'7", has an advantage in this fight and has said this will be his last fight at 118 lbs. He is looking to move up to super bantamweight at 122 lbs.

As reported this week on www.fightnews.com, Donaire and trainer Robert Garcia have stated that they've trained hard and prepared well, that they don't take "any opponent lightly." Donaire plans on being "faster, stronger, and smarter" against Narvaez, and plans on knocking out Narvaez "in the first opportunity he has," states Garcia.

A sold-out audience of 4,500 at the MSG WaMu Theatre is expected tomorrow night along with a big HBO home audience viewing this exciting matchup between Donaire and Narvaez. Don't miss it.  

The No. 4 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Nonito Donaire, returns this Saturday, October 22nd on HBO's Boxing After Dark to defend his WBC bantamweight title against undefeated Argentinian Omar Narvaez, who is currently a champion at super featherweight.

After such an impressive destructive knockout victory over former pound-for-pound WBC bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel last February, most fight fans and media were thirsting for Donaire to step back into the ring.

But, he was out for most of the rest of 2011 due to negotiations with his promoter Top Rank and a brief cold war with rival promoter Golden Boy promotions, who at one point claimed to have officially acquired and signed him assuming his contract was up.

Donaire is now currently back with Top Rank, and it appears the promotions team is now willing and ready to promote him like the true star that he is, both inside and outside the ring. And, that is one of the reasons why Donaire vs. Narvaez is taking place in the world-famous Madison Square Garden in New York.

Donaire, who is Filipino-American from San Leandro, Calif., holds an impressive record of 26(18)-1, having not lost a fight since his second pro fight in 2001.

He has all the makings of becoming a big star with a best-of-both-worlds fighting style.

He has a high ring IQ and can technically break down his opponents, but he's also got tremendous speed and one-punch knockout power that will have most fight fans excited when he perfectly counter-punches and eventually stops his opponents.

Narvaez is undefeated with a perfect record of 35(19)-0-2. This will be his American debut, and he will be stepping up in weight class from super featherweight, where he is a champion.

Donaire vs. Narvaez from the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York can be seen on HBO's Boxing After Dark on Saturday, Oct. 22nd at 10:30 p.m. ET. The HBO Sports team of Bob Papa, Max Kellerman and Roy Jones Jr. will be ringside for all the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

The fight will re-air on HBO (October 23rd at 8:30 a.m. and October 24th at 12:45 a.m.) and on HBO2 (October 23rd at 4:30 p.m. and October 25th at 11:00 p.m. ET).

Before Donaire vs. Narvaez, all the action begins with the return of boxing's biggest star, Manny Pacquiao, as Pacquiao/Marquez 24/7 debuts at 10:00 p.m. ET in what will be a four-part episode of the award-winning reality program 24/7.

Prior to the live Donaire vs. Narvaez fight, HBO will revisit the Oct. 15th pay-per-view telecast from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. HBO will air highlights of 52-year-old Dewey Bozella’s pro debut versus Larry Hopkins, show select rounds of the dramatic Antonio DeMarco-Jorge Linares lightweight battle and replay the controversial Bernard Hopkins-Chad Dawson showdown.

KING J is the Bleacher Report Boxing Community Leader and a Featured Columnist. All information was provided directly to him via email press release from the executive producers of HBO.

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