Flyweight

Nonito Donaire won more than a fight this past weekend; he also showed his commitment to performing at a high level and doing it the right way.

Coming into his fight this past weekend with Mexican warrior Jorge Arce, the Filipino sensation and WBO junior featherweight champion announced his participation in the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) testing protocol.

Donaire, who came under scrutiny for his relationship with Victor Conte of BALCO fame, stated he did it to show his fans and the boxing community he is a clean fighter.

He never tested positive, and decided to get out in front and go the extra mile to prove his achievements are the result of skill and not chemical enhancement. For this he deserves credit, and one can hope he'll serve as an example to other fighters.

But to think that he can do it alone is naive. 

It's time for VADA to adopted nationwide for all fights and it's incumbent on the sanctioning bodies—the IBF, WBC, WBA and WBO—to make this happen before someone gets hurt, or worse.

By imposing these standards, the sanctioning bodies will be sending a very strong message—if you want to compete for titles and make big money, you must prove you're clean.

This topic, which has already caused reckonings in sports such as baseball and football, takes on a special urgency in boxing that it doesn't in the others.

In baseball, steroids can speed up your reflexes and cause you to hit the ball harder or farther. They can help you recover faster and add a few more miles of extra zip to your fastball.

In boxing, the extra power or speed of a punch can end a career or even a life. 

In a year where several prominent fighters, including Lamont Peterson, Andre Berto and Antonio Tarver have tested positive for banned substances, it's time to get serious.

Many have argued that this represents just the tip of the iceberg as steroid testing is notoriously easy to beat and many states don't even require stringent drug testing.

Even a state like Nevada, which hosts several high-profile fights each year, has a very limited testing program that informs fighters in advance when they will be tested, and doesn't require testing for Human Growth Hormone (HGH) or synthetic testosterone.

And these are among the toughest standards in the nation.

This type of model, which is the antithesis of VADA, makes testing a joke and easy to beat. 

VADA on the other hand relies on random testing, which can be conducted anytime in the eight weeks prior to a bout at their discretion, and immediately releases results upon their completion.

Current drug testing usually consists of just a pre- and post-fight urine test, and results are often not seen for weeks.

There have been examples of fighters who tested positive before a fight and were allowed to compete because their second round of testing wasn't done in time.

With VADA, the test results are complete, sanctioning bodies and state athletic commissions are informed immediately and decisions can be made. 

No more wait-and-see attitudes about whether a fighter is walking into the ring with an illegal and perhaps dangerous advantage.

Nonito Donaire has taken a very important first step in this process. But no fighter, even one as good and popular as the Filipino Flash, can do it on his own.

It's sad that we've come to a point of guilty until proven innocent. But while this may leave a bad taste in some people's mouths, it reflects the reality of the situation.

Steroids and other PED's have no place in boxing. You don't just cheat the sport and your opponents when you use them, you put lives on the line.

The sanctioning bodies need to jump in on this and do something they rarely do—lead.

They are the only organizations, short of any sort of national boxing authority, with the power to make this change and make it stick.

Nonito Donaire is one of the most formidable boxing headliners, and his third-round knockout of Jorge Arce shows that he is ready to ascend even higher in his sport's hierarchy.

The Filipino Flash's profile has been raised by his own excellence and his countryman Manny Pacquiao's formidable knockout defeat at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez on Dec. 8.

It seems quite obvious that Donaire and Pacquiao are moving in opposite directions in the sport.

Donaire, 30, fought four times in 2012 and his results were better every time he stepped into the ring. He started the year with a split-decision victory over Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. in February. He followed that with a unanimous decision win over Jeffrey Mathebula in July.

Donaire took down Japanese fighter Toshiaki Nishioka with a ninth-round TKO in October before stopping Arce in the third round on Dec. 15.

Pacquiao fought twice in 2012 and he lost a controversial decision to Timothy Bradley in June before suffering his brutal sixth-round defeat to Marquez.

Pacquiao has not said whether he will continue with his career and try to reverse his most recent results or if he will retire. He is clearly considering the possibility of leaving the sport. He has future options in politics and show business and his wife, Jinkee, would like him to retire.

Donaire and Pacquiao have more in common than just their home country and their high-profile status in the sport they share. Both have similar hard punching and attacking styles. Both men are stylish boxers who are looking for a spot to unload their heaviest shots.

Donaire is the WBO super bantamweight champion. He fought at 121.5 pounds when he defeated Arce, and he has the frame to add more weight. Perhaps he could go as high as 130 or perhaps even 135 pounds, but it would be tough for the 5'5.5" Donaire to put any more weight on his frame.

While Donaire is recognized by the sport as a champion and one of the up-and-coming pound-for-pound fighters in the world, he is a long way from having the recognition that Pacquiao had during his prime years.

Pacquiao became perhaps the No. 2 fighter in the sport behind Floyd Mayweather and if a fight between those two has been arranged in 2008 or 2009, it might have been one of those transcendent boxing moments that occurs so infrequently.

A fight between those two might not have been as big as Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier in the 1970s, but it might have approached that level.

It's not likely Donaire will ever have that kind of popularity.

He is a skilled fighter who puts one impressive show after another. However, he does not have the same level of charisma as his countryman so it's unlikely he will be able to carry the sport the way Pacquiao has throughout his career.

Top pound-for-pound Filipino-American star Nonito Donaire just may have solidified his Fighter of the Year award for 2012 by knocking out the Mexican veteran star Jorge Arce at the end of the third round in Houston, Texas at the Toyota Center.

Donaire patiently waited and countered Arce for much of the fight.

Arce was overly cautious in the first round, backing up and not willing to trade shots with the WBO super bantamweight champion, who knocked him down once in the second round and twice in the third round.

It was clear that the majority of the fight fans and media were right calling this fight an easy one-sided beatdown for the 30-year-old Donaire, who is very much still in his prime in comparison to the 33-year-old Mexican veteran who has made a career of punishing himself through many exciting bloody wars.

Donaire looked dominant and sharp and fought a near-perfect fight.

Of course, this fight between Donaire vs. Arce would have been a lot better had they fought years earlier.

I remember all the way back in 2008 walking out of the Manny Pacquiao vs. David Diaz fight with Nonito and his wife Rachel, and back then I felt Nonito was not getting the love and recognition he should be getting having knocked out Vic Darchinyan and a number of impressive dominating wins back to back.

All three of us were walking in the lobby of the Mandalay Bay and most of the Filipino fans were not even noticing Nonito.

But then we bumped into Jorge Arce and his wife.

Nonito asked Jorge for his phone number and if I could take a picture of them together.

Then some fans noticed this and began to ask both Nonito and Arce for their pictures and autographs.

I told Rachel that Nonito needs to fight this guy cause he is the big-money fight at your guy's weight class that will make you the most money and turn him into a big star overnight.

Jorge's wife heard me say this and began to laugh, and I felt bad because I assumed she could not either understand English or hear us talking, but she did.

Jorge's wife is rather lovely and took what I said as a compliment.

Fast forward to Saturday night four years later, and four weight classes higher these two warriors finally met inside the ring giving Nonito his career-high pay day of $1 million and Arce a good retirement check of $800,000.

You can not take anything away from Nonito; he is just that good that he makes most of his opponents go into survival mode, but perhaps his true challenges will be at 126 lbs or even 130 lbs?

The HBO commentating team praised Nonito for being one of the only fighters to take a big stand against performance-enhancement drugs in boxing by doing 365-days-a-year-random drug testing in a sport that has often been tainted by PEDs.

The way the commentators praised Nonito as soon as he knocked out Arce for doing random drug testing year round was almost like they were calling out Juan Manuel Marquez for his huge knockout of the year victory over Manny Pacquiao last weekend.

Arce and Marquez both use the same strength and conditioning coach who transformed the 39-year-old Marquez into an impressive body builder, and despite much speculation, Marquez confidently passed his post-fight drug tests that some may argue are not as extensive as the tests that Nonito partakes in.

Speaking of HBO commentators, the boxing Hall of Fame commentator, Larry Merchant will now retire from calling the fights after 35 years, and Donaire vs. Arce was his final fight.

The way Arce looked Saturday night inside the ring, it might not be such a bad idea for him to retire as well like Larry, but with a big paycheck and a beautiful wife that he has waiting for him like a true champion should have.

King J is the B/R Boxing Community Leader and Featured Columnist.

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Nonito Donaire retained his WBO super bantamweight championship with a dominant third-round knockout over challenger Jorge Arce Saturday night at the Toyota Center in Houston.

The two fighters felt each other out for the first round, but the pace quickened in Round 2. Donaire began to throw more combinations and caught Arce to score his first knockdown of the fight.

The third round was even more impressive for Donaire. He scored an early knockdown over Arce, and, like Arce always does, the challenger kept pushing forward, trying to land punches of his own. 

In the third round's final seconds, though, Donaire dropped Arce. It was obvious right away that the fight was over as Arce struggled to peel himself off the mat.

Not only was this a great fight, but it was the final fight that HBO legend Larry Merchant will commentate from ringside. He gave viewers a few of his textbook comments, leaving you scratching your head while trying to figure out what he just said.

Arce entered this fight behind a 68-6-2 record with 46 knockouts in his career. He's notorious for his straight-forward approach, using his toughness to battle his way through fights. Even though he doesn't play great defense or display an all-around skill set, he's still one of the sport's most entertaining competitors.

Donaire was 30-1 with 19 knockouts entering Saturday's bout. Coming into the fight, it wasn't hard to guess that he would use his complete skill set to try to push Arce around the ring. The only real advantage that Arce had coming into it was his tremendous heart.

Arce fought the fight that many expected, and he lost the only way that he possibly could have. He doesn't ever back down, but Donaire was too good.

Once again, Donaire proved himself to be a great fighter and someone who steps up when the title is on the line. It will be interesting to see whom he fights next, with the most likely candidates being Abner Mares or Guillermo Rigondeaux

In October of 2011, I covered Nonito Donaire's Madison Square Garden debut vs. undefeated WBO super flyweight champion Omar Andrés Narvaez of Argentina. The week before the fight, I participated in a media phone call where Donaire's promoter, Bob Arum, spoke openly about his goal to build Donaire into the sport's next pay-per-view star.

It was eight months after his sensational Round 2 TKO of Fernando Montiel, and the Filipino-American fighter was riding a wave of momentum. But it all ground to a temporary halt that evening in midtown Manhattan.

Donaire came away with another victory—a shutout unanimous decision—but the manner in which he won did nothing to build up his buzz as boxing's next all-action star. The bout was a listless affair, with Narvaez remaining behind a turtled-up guard all night and Donaire unable to force him to engage.

By the end of the night, much of the Garden crowd was chanting "boring," and other less appropriate refrains.

Most of the blame would have to go to poor match-making. The 36-year-old Narvaez recognized in the opening round that he was confronted with a bigger, stronger, quicker opponent whom he had no chance of beating. Given the situation, he opted simply to avoid taking any serious head trauma and spent the entire 12 rounds avoiding danger of any kind.

Donaire was visibly frustrated and could be overheard telling his corner "I'm bored" between rounds.

Post-fight, Donaire and Arum addressed the press outside the ring. At one point, Donaire commandeered a microphone and began interviewing his promoter.

The first question he asked Arum was noteworthy: "How about a fight between Nonito Donaire and Jorge Arce?"

The members of press row grumbled and nodded their collective approval. Following the snoozefest he'd been forced to put on with Navraez, what better possible opponent could the Filipino Flash ask for?

Could any fighter offer a better potential foil for Donaire's explosively precise counterpunching than the relentlessly attacking, four-division world champion, Mexican Cowboy?

This Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, Nonito Donaire will finally get his wish for an ideal opponent, as he is scheduled to defend his Ring and WBO super bantamweight titles against Arce at the Toyota Center in Houston.  

It will cap off a sensational 2012 for Donaire, if he can close according to plans. Arce will be Donaire's fourth straight world-class opponent this year.

In February, he moved up to the 122-pound division and captured the vacant WBO super bantamweight title by beating Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. by split decision at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Despite the split decision, the fight was never close.

Judge Ruben Garcia's 115-112 card for Vasquez was among the most incompetent handed in during a year of bad judging.

In July, Donaire knocked off the IBF belt holder, Jeffrey Mathebula at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. Giving up over a half-foot in height, Donaire adjusted like the elite talent he is and won by wide margins on all three cards, knocking Mathebula down in the fourth.

Donaire's toughest matchup of the year was supposed to take place in October, when he challenged Japanese star Toshiaki Nishioka, once again in Carson. Instead it ended up being Donaire's best performance of 2012 to date. Nishioka attempted to fight a cautious fight from a distance for most of the early rounds.

But when he moved into range and challenged Donaire, the results were predictable. Donaire floored him in the sixth and again in the ninth, before winning by TKO in Round 9.

Now, just two months later, he is set to step back into the ring against another top-ranked opponent, one who can be reliably counted upon to take the fight to him and give him a war. 

One of two things can happen in Houston this Saturday. Either we will see Arce record the upset of the year or we will watch Donaire put an exclamation point on 2012.  

If Donaire can stay on track with this last fight, a potentially even bigger 2013 awaits. Superfights are still waiting for him at 122 in Abner Mares and Guillermo Rigondeaux. If he chooses to move up to 126, he's got great potential fights in opponents like Orlando Salido, Daniel Ponce de Leon and Billy Dib.

And if everything goes the way most people expect it to go on Saturday, Donaire will enter next year as 2012's Fighter of the Year.

Guillermo Rigondeaux (11-0, 8 KO) was set to defend his WBA super bantamweight world title against Thai fighter Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym (48-2, 33 KO) until his opponent tested positive for HIV.

Dan Rafael of ESPN reports that the Texas Department of Licensing and Registration cancelled the match that was set to take place in Houston on Dec. 15.

Rigondeaux would have faced the biggest test of his professional career had he faced Kratingdaenggym. Now without an opponent, there's only one way to turn this unfortunate event into a positive: make a fight with Abner Mares.

Mares (25-0-1, 13 KO) is the undefeated WBC super bantamweight world champion. A fight between the two would be the second-biggest fight possible in the 122-lb division.

Whoever won would undoubtedly set the stage for a clash with the biggest star of the super bantamweight division, Nonito Donaire (30-1, 19 KO).

The only problem with making this match would be its rival promoters, Golden Boy, who represent Mares; and Top Rank, who represent Rigondeaux.

Top Rank and Golden Boy have been intent on not co-promoting an event together for quite some time. But Top Rank recently outbid Golden Boy to host a fight between Top Rank fighter Vanes Martirosyan (32-0-1, 20 KO) and Golden Boy fighter Erislandy Lara (17-1-2, 11 KO).

The match was held on Nov. 10 and was fairly scored a draw. If Mares-Rigondeaux is to happen, one of the promoters must purchase the services of the rival promoter's fighter.

Seeing that Golden Boy allowed Lara to be purchase by Top Rank last time, Top Rank should return the favor and allow Rigondeaux to be purchased this time. The two promoters would be trading one Cuban fighter for the other. If Rigondeaux wins, Top Rank can have an in-house superfight between Donaire and Rigondeaux.

If Mares wins, Top Rank can offer to buy the services of Mares from Golden Boy so they can host the Donaire-Mares matchup.

Otherwise, Mares and Rigondeaux have nothing to do except wait for Donaire to pick one of them. If Rigondeaux and Mares fight, Donaire's next opponent becomes as clear as day.

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Boxing fans are still recovering from Juan Manuel Marquez's sixth-round knockout of Manny Pacquiao, but there is another excellent bout happening on Saturday.

WBO super bantamweight title Nonito Donaire will face Jorge Arce in Houston Saturday night with his belt on the line, and it should be a good one.

Donaire (30-1, 19 KOs) will be favored in this one, but Arce (64-6-2, 46 KOs) is an extremely dangerous fighter. Don't expect the outcome of this one to come easy, and it will definitely be worth watching.

Let's take a look at where you can watch and give a few keys to the bout.

Where: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas

When: Saturday, December 15 at 9:30 p.m. ET

TV: HBO

Live Stream: Top Rank

Key to Donaire Victory: Use Arce's Aggression Against Him

Arce is an extremely aggressive fighter, but he only knows how to fight one style. Donaire is a better overall fighter, and he is capable of taking advantage of Arce's overzealous attack.

I'm not trying to compare this to Pacquiao versus Marquez, but the idea is the same. Arce only knows how to move forward. He's very good at it, and he will beat Donaire if the champion isn't careful, but he has no other option.

Donaire has things in his back pocket. He's a devastating counter-puncher, and he's a smart fighter. He throws crisp shots that will hurt Arce, especially as "Travieso" continuously moves into them.

Look for Donaire to bide his time in this one. He knows that Arce will be looking for a big shot, so he just has to stay on his feet and wait for Arce to slip up and create an opportunity for him.

Key to Arce Victory: Attack, Attack, Attack

This is Arce's only chance to win. As I said before, he's a one-dimensional fighter, but he's very good at what he does.

Arce has 46 knockouts in his career, so you know that he can throw some punches. If he can force Donaire to fight his style, he has a chance to pull off the upset and win the belt.

Even though Donaire is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters, he does have weaknesses. He tends to leave himself open to big punches at times, and Arce is more than capable of landing those shots.

Arce is a four-division title-winner for a reason. He knows how to fight, and he has nothing to lose in this situation.

Prediction: Donaire via 9th-Round TKO

Donaire just has too much for Arce in this one. Arce can only fight one type of fight, and that will hurt him here. Look for Donaire to wear him down and win via ninth-round TKO.

Sanctioning bodies and rival promotional outfits have done their best to occupy boxing with petulance and greed. Considering that boxing’s bureaucratic institutions are technically in a unique position to help the sport, they seem to possess little foresight or desire to do so.

This unfortunate trend could continue if a fight between Nonito Donaire and Abner Mares never gets made.

Last night, Juan Manuel Marquez knocked Manny Pacquiao out cold in a sensational fight that benefited boxing. Pacquiao-Marquez IV lived up to the action and competitiveness of the previous three fights and finally crowned a definitive winner. The fight exceeded expectations and gave fans exactly what they deserve.

Well, everything except for the continued hope that Pacquiao will one day fight Floyd Mayweather.

The hypothetical Mayweather-Pacquiao fight was unlikely to ever happen anyway, and frankly, its genuine appeal had already expired. Pacquiao-Marquez IV only confirmed this. Now, boxing fans can finally let go of the Mayweather-Pacquiao albatross that has strangled the sport for years.

There was a time, however, when Mayweather-Pacquiao should have happened and would have greatly benefited the sport. Unfortunately, that was several years ago. Whether one blames Bob Arum or the fighters and their respective camps for this missed opportunity, the fact remains that everyone involved simply blew it. 

A super bantamweight unification fight between WBO champion Donaire (30-1, 19 KO) and WBC boss Mares (25-0-1, 13 KO) is likely at the peak of its appeal and would feature two prizefighters who consistently seek out elite competition. It is up to Top Rank and Golden Boy to finally realize this.

With Donaire-Mares in a similar situation that Mayweather-Pacquiao was in two or three years ago, fans shouldn’t be surprised if they are again disappointed.

The frustrating inability to make Donaire-Mares has everything to do with the feud between rival promotional outfits Top Rank, who promotes Donaire, and Golden Boy, who handles Mares. In his ESPN.com boxing blog, Dan Rafael succinctly outlines the foolishness of this impasse:

Yet, it's not happening [Donaire-Mares] because of the silly, energy-sucking feud between Golden Boy and Top Rank, which has done nothing but damage the sport for years even if the bosses of the companies won't admit it.

There are a lot of fights they could make together that would be great, but Donaire-Mares is one of the very best. That is bad for the fans—the people the promoters claim to care about—and the fighters.

Frank Espinoza, who manages Mares, has told me that the one fight they really want is against Donaire. They took the [Anselmo] Moreno fight because they had no other serious options and Espinoza feels as though they were forced into it.

Donaire recently told RingTV.com’s Lem Satterfield that he is keen to make a fight with Mares: 

“I want to request that fight with Mares to happen. I requested that fight last year and this year, but it never happened,” said Donaire of Mares, who dropped Moreno during the fifth round of a victory that ended Moreno's 27-bout winning streak.

“Maybe now that he's calling me out on national television, it might happen. We'll see, but I want to try to get that fight for next year. But we'll see. I'll fight Mares, who is the Golden Boy guy as well. We'll have to wait for that negotiation to present itself. But I want that fight in order to begin cleaning out this division and then move up to 126.”

This echoes sentiments that both Mares and Espinoza have expressed. Of course, Satterfield also notes that Donaire has been linked to a potential fight against WBA 122-pound champion Guillermo Rigondeaux, which could happen if the Donaire-Mares stalemate continues.

Still, Donaire-Mares is one of the few fights in boxing that can generate unanimous, widespread excitement and captivate casual fans.

If Donaire understands the importance of securing this fight as soon as possible, Mares appears to be a willing and enthusiastic adversary. In an interview with BoxingScene.com, Mares acknowledges that he has noticed some flexibility between Top Rank and Golden Boy and that he’s now more “excited” than “frustrated” about the prospect of fighting Donaire.

In the same interview, Mares claims that fighting Donaire could “help save boxing and bring it back to where it was.” This type of hyperbole is expected from fighters trying to promote a bout. That said, the idea of one specific fight “saving” boxing is the exact fallacy that blew the prospect of Mayweather-Pacquiao out of proportion.

This is not meant to downgrade the significance of Donaire-Mares. Donaire and Mares are peaking, and they have both strung together runs of impressive victories against elite opponents.

At 30, Donaire is in the midst of his prime and clearly wants to maximize it. As a result, Top Rank and Golden Boy must realize that waiting beyond 2013 to make Donaire-Mares is tempting fate.

Fighters can often suffer steep an unexpected declines in boxing’s smaller weight classes. While nothing suggests that this will happen to Donaire imminently, there is no need to risk it.

More fights between elite champions is what boxing needs. A stylistic breakdown of why Donaire versus Mares is a tremendous matchup is best saved for another article. Still, Mares’ combination of skill and aggression would undoubtedly produce fierce exchanges when pitted against Donaire’s classy boxing an unparalleled explosiveness.

Waiting too long to make this fight negates the potential historical and financial benefits of a rematch or trilogy should the first fight prove worthy. If both boxers are sincere in their desire to fight each other, it is now exclusively up to the promoters to grow up.

Sadly, this remains a frightening and unlikely prospect.

The result of Pacquiao-Marquez IV liberated boxing fans from the clutches of Mayweather-Pacquiao. Now, boxing can move on and thrive if the appropriate fights are made and the wishes of the actual fighters and fans are met. Donaire and Mares can be crucial in this transition.

Let’s hope all promotional outfits allow this to happen. 

After unifying flyweight titles against Hernan “Tyson” Marquez, Brian Viloria would seemingly have a plethora of options moving forward. By scoring a 10th-round stoppage in a bout that will garner honorable mention consideration for Fight of the Year, Viloria (32-3, 19 KO) has firmly established himself as one of the sports hottest fighters.

Yet despite being the WBA/WBO 112-pound champion, Viloria also finds himself at somewhat of an impasse. It is no secret that boxing’s smaller weight classes struggle to attract mainstream recognition. Though arbitrary and unfair, this peculiar discrimination could impact Viloria’s next fight.

According to BoxingScene.com’s Ronnie Nathanielsz, the WBO has ordered that Viloria face its No. 1 contender and mandatory challenger, Milan Melindo. Negotiations must start within 30 days; should the camps reach an agreement, they will have an additional 90 days to schedule the fight.

Despite the WBO mandate, should a pound-for-pound-caliber fighter like Viloria settle for a mandatory defense?

Perhaps, Viloria’s most exciting prospect is a fight with current WBA light flyweight champion Roman Gonzalez. A murderous puncher and two-division champion, Gonzalez (34-0, 28 KO) won on the Viloria-Marquez undercard in what could act as a prelude to a future encounter.

Though Viloria-Gonzalez is one of boxing’s best hypothetical matchups, RingTV.com’s Ryan Songalia reports that this fight might not materialize as soon as anticipated:

When he returns, Viloria says he hopes to arrange a clash with unbeaten WBA junior flyweight titleholder Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (34-0, 28 KOs), but remains unsure if that's in the immediate plans.

I think they're gonna want to fight a couple more times at 108.

Viloria's long-time manager Gary Gittelsohn echoed Viloria's sentiments, saying they are “very interested in a Gonzalez matchup” but that “indications are that Gonzalez is not in any hurry to move up in weight.”

Songalia does note that an email to Gonzalez’s manager remained unanswered by the time he went to press. Still, the short-term prospects of Viloria-Gonzalez—a fight that could surpass Viloria-Marquez in significance and action—appears murky at best.

So where does this leave Viloria?

With Gonzalez out of the immediate equation, Viloria would be wise to consider making his WBO mandatory defense. According to Songalia, Viloria’s thrilling win over Marquez (34-3, 25 KO) was the first flyweight unification in almost 50 years. While alphabet titles are often a nuisance, as a unified champion, Viloria possesses hardware that can be used as bargaining chips to secure other big fights.

Furthermore, Viloria’s mandatory challenger, Milan Melindo (28-0, 11 KO), is an intriguing opponent. At 24 and undefeated, Melindo has bested former 105-pound champion Muhammad Rachman and captured multiple regional and minor titles. Of greater interest is that, in 2010, Melindo defeated Carlos Tamara, the only man who’s stopped Viloria (in an IBF light flyweight title fight).

Also, Melindo is from the Philippines, and Viloria is a Filipino-American. Though he was born in Hawaii and represented the U.S. at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Viloria has contested five of his past seven bouts in the Philippines. Naturally, Viloria-Melindo would be a massive and profitable draw if staged in their ostensible backyard.

Songalia also mentions that Viloria brought up the likes of former foes Tamara (22-7-1, 16 KO) and Edgar Sosa. Tamara and Sosa (47-7, 28 KO), of course, have both beaten Viloria, and fights against either man could provide Viloria with desirable redemption.

But, is the chance to exact revenge enough to justify fighting Tamara or Sosa at the expense of Melindo?

Well, not really. Tamara, who has a 1-3-1 record since beating Viloria, is an especially weak opponent and will likely elicit groans from fans and pundits. While Sosa has enjoyed better success since defeating Viloria in 2007, he has lost his last two bids for a world title—in 2009 via knockout to Rodel Mayol and in 2011 against Thai legend Pongsaklek Wonjongkam.

In his post-fight interview after dismantling Marquez on WealthTV, Viloria explicitly stated that he hopes his performance will force premium networks like HBO and Showtime to invite him onto their airwaves. Viloria certainly deserves this, as do other elite fighters campaigning in boxing’s smaller weight classes.

Unfortunately for Viloria, fighting Gonzalez might be the only way to secure a spot on a major HBO or Showtime card.

Given Viloria’s sensational performance against Marquez, Viloria-Melindo would be a fine addition to any televised undercard on HBO or Showtime. That said, Viloria shouldn’t hold his breath and might be better off defending his WBA/WBO titles in the Philippines as he awaits Gonzalez’s jump to 112 pounds.

If Viloria-Gonzalez happens, it will be an excellent fight. In the interim, Viloria should defend his belts against Melindo, maintain his status as a unified champion and keep making exciting fights.

At this point, it’s up to the suits at HBO and Showtime to give Viloria the exposure he deserves.