Moving up to 126 pounds could be disastrous for WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire, who is facing mandatory challenger Jessie Magdaleno on Nov. 5 in the undercard of the Pacquiao-Vargas fight at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Donaire has recently talked about the possibility of facing Carl Frampton, who has just moved up to 126 pounds limit in an apparent desire to land a lucrative fight after winning four straight bouts since his stunning knockout loss to Nicholas Walters in 2014. “The future is open for me, I love challenges,” Donaire told Omnisport. “I’ll fight anyone at 126 lbs and, at the same time, I’ll fight anybody at 122 lbs.,” said Donaire, who needs to get past Magdaleno for for a possible crack at Frampton or Leo Santa Cruz down the road. “I always fight anyone who challenges me. I’m just excited to be thinking about facing the champions in my weight class and above,” he added. At 33, Donaire is getting past his prime and needs to cash in on his remaining fights. But looking back, Donaire had a disastrous stint at 126 pounds when he was stopped by Nicholas Walters of Jamaica in 2014 at the StubHub Center in Carson, California. Before aiming his sight on Frampton at 126, Donaire was looking at the possibility of facing Oscar Valdez, who is the current WBO Featherweight champion. “I definitely want to go back to 126 when I get done with 122. Valdez is an amazing fighter. He’s a freaking hungry lion and a champion and an amazing person first and foremost. He’s an amazing champion and that is definitely something to look forward to,” Donaire told BoxingScene.com. Donaire need go beyond 122 pounds at this time because there are still some good fights at super bantamweight where he reigned supreme for a couple of fights since winning the title against Wilfredo Vaquez in 2012. A rematch against Guillermo Rigondeaux would be is worth considering because he currently holds the WBA super bantamweight title which is a good start for a unification fight. Another fight worth looking at will be against Scott Quigg, who lost his title against Frampton last year. Quigg has a good fan base in UK and it could be a lucrative fight for both of them. While there are still good fights at 122, Donaire need not go back to 126 in search of money-making fights.
