It may take a while before WBO superbantamweight champion Nonito Donaire Jr. gets to fight in a marquee bout that he?s been longing for.
Moments after knocking out title challenger Zsolt Bedak of Hungary in the third round Saturday night in Cebu, Donaire stated his eagerness to battle either fellow champion Carl Frampton or ex-tormentor Guillermo Rigondeaux of Cuba.
?I?ve been asked this million times before but I?ll say (I want to face) the best out there,? Donaire told reporters inside his dressing room. ?If it?s Frampton, if it?s Rigondeaux, if it?s (Hugo) Ruiz, if it?s anybody that feels that they are better than me, come inside the ring, I?m waiting for you.?
A battle with Frampton could only be possible by the end of the year as the unbeaten WBA and IBF 122-lb kingpin is set to move up in weight and battle WBA featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz of Mexico tentatively set on July 30 in New York.
Rigondeaux, meanwhile, was supposed to see action last month in Liverpool opposite British hope James Dickens but was called off after the Cuban failed to obtain a visa.
The 35-year-old Rigondeaux (16-0, 10 knockouts) scored a stunning decision win over Donaire in their unification battle last April, 2013 in New York.
Rigondeaux is the mandatory challenger to Frampton but the Cuban could meet one of the top contenders of the WBA should the superbantamweight crown be declared vacant depending on the result of Frampton?s featherweight bid.
?I know I?m going to get it. That?s why I want to build up my name. I have the belt and will try to get the other belts. I?m willing to fight them. I want to fight them,? said Donaire ?If it?s not Rigondeaux or Frampton, everyone else will just be an activity fight.?
Donaire?s win over Bedak was his first title defense after winning the WBO belt by decisioning Mexican Cesar Juarez last December in Puerto Rico.
