When you’re at the top of your division and you have a big name in boxing, it’s pretty common for everyone and their brother to call you out. It’s impossible for a fighter to fight everyone. After all boxing is a business, and I know that most fans don’t like to hear this, but it’s more than just the best fighting the best. In business it’s about making the most money, and boxing is no different.
After Nonito Donaire took care of business this past February against the solid and very capable former WBO Super Bantamweight Champion Wilfredo Vasquez Jr., and won the vacant WBO Title in the process, all of a sudden everyone started coming out of the wood work calling him out. Donaire has engaged in verbal back and forth exchanges on Twitter with IBF/WBC Silver Bantamweight Champion Abner Mares and WBA Super Bantamweight Champion Guillermo Rigondeaux, in which both men called him out. Another fight that has also been talked about is a match with former WBC Super Bantamweight Titlist, and arguably the best super bantamweight in the world along side Donaire, Toshiaki Nishioka. Nishioka vacated the title and now Mares will be facing Eric Morel in April for the vacant title.
All of the aforementioned fighters would be very tough challenges for Donaire and would make for some very intriguing match ups. These are the types of fights that the fans want to see Donaire in.
Once a fighter has entered the mythical pound for pound list as Donaire has, the expectations become higher. It seems like a forgone conclusion that Donaire should get by the rugged but shopworn former IBF Super Bantamweight Champion Cristian Mijares in July. Before this fight was announced, a fight with former WBO Super Bantamweight Champion Jorge Arce was being discussed, but Arce elected to move down to bantamweight where he will be challenging for the WBO Title in June against an opponent that has yet to be determined. These types of fights leave little to the imagination for boxing fans. The type of come forward style that fighters like Mijares and Arce possess are tailor made for the highly skilled and physically gifted Donaire.
In defense of Donaire, he has to fight the fighters that his promoter Top Rank puts in front of him, but at some point fans will start to lose interest if they see that he is not being tested against the top fighters. Hopefully by the end of the year we get to see him in against Nishioka, Mares, or Rigondeaux. Those fighters would surely provide a stiffer test than Mijares or Arce.
