Bantamweight WBC/WBO champion Nonito Donaire, currently sidelined due to a contract dispute with promoter Top Rank, is a fighter many feel is wasting his prime.
The last official word from Donaire’s management was that he intends to take his contract before mediator Daniel Weinstein later this month in an attempt to prove that the terms have not been met by Top Rank and so free himself to fight under the Golden Boy banner.
After Donaire attempted to switch promoters earlier this year Weinstein previously ruled that Top Rank’s contract superseded Golden Boy’s with Donaire, and that delays caused by medical suspensions did automatically extend the contract as Bob Arum claimed.
Donaire is now claiming that by not providing him with three opponents per year as per the terms he agreed to, Top Rank have breached the contract.
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The fact that the contract was extended due to medical suspensions perhaps suggests that the number of opponents Donaire could have taken on would have been limited anyway. Add to this the fact that Top Rank seldom lose when it comes to legal battles with fighters and most expect that sooner or later Donaire will be fighting for Bob Arum again sooner or later.
Arum himself recently told Ronnie Nathanielsz that he expects to hear news on Donaire in the coming weeks, although didn’t specify whether this was going to be news on Donaire’s ongoing legal struggle to wrest himself from Arum’s grasp or whether he has decided to swallow his pride and honor the rest of his contract.
?I think we?ll probably see that by next week.?
?I can?t get into it now because there was arbitration and mediation but there?ll be news coming out next week.? Advertisement
Naturally Donaire’s suitors Golden Boy have backed him over the matter, while Top Rank seem eager to retain his services as long as they can.
Thus far the two sides have largely refrained from taking personal shots at each other over the issue, undoubtedly a good sign.
Also with Oscar De La Hoya’s apology last week coupled with Arum and Richard Schaefer successfully negotiating the release of Juan Manuel Marquez, things between the two promotional giants are better now than they have been since the two last cooperated a little over two years ago for Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton.
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While things between Arum and Schaefer are friendly, and there isn’t any guarantee that this state of affairs is going to last very long, Nonito Donaire has a unique opportunity.
His choices in the past appeared to be limited to two possibilities.
Firstly he could continue to attempt to take on Top Rank in a potentially lengthy and costly legal battle, all the while being inactive.
Secondly he could give up and fight for Top Rank again, seeing out the remainder of his contract before moving on to Golden Boy.
With the Top Rank-Golden Boy alliance for the time being in place however, a third option may have become a possibility.
Now that Arum and Schaefer are able to negotiate more easily, a deal limiting Donaire’s contract with Top Rank to one or two fights rather than another two years might be an option, possibly with some kind of compensation from Golden Boy to sweeten the deal.
Also the truce gives Donaire the chance to return to Top Rank without losing face. He could say that he decided to return to Top Rank in the interest of keeping the peace for example.
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