The ultimate targets on Nonito Donaire?s horizon used to be individuals, prospective opponents such as Vic Darchinyan, Fernando Montiel and Juan Manuel Lopez. But with Lopez and the 126-pound division diminished during the past 18 months, Donaire?s most important goal now is to unify the 122-pound hierarchy.
Toward that end, Donaire, the Filipino Flash, is defending his WBO super-bantamweight championship Saturday on HBO against South African Jeffrey Mathebula (26-3-1, 14 knockouts), whose IBF belt will also be on the line. Donaire says he demanded this unification bout, which is no walkover considering ?I?ve never faced a taller guy before.?
To follow, promoter Bob Arum hopes, are 122-pound summit meetings between the Bay Area resident Donaire and other notable super-bantams, such as with WBC champion Toshiaki Nishioka, and, especially WBA champ Guillermo Rigondeaux. ?These are really exciting times in the 122-pound division,? Arum said last week on a telephone news conference staged for a handful of boxing writers, including the SF Boxing Examiner. It?s starting to resemble a mini-tournament (including Donaire?s February victory over Wilfredo Vasquez Jr.), and Arum is hoping he can complete the picture by persuading recent Showtime bantamweight tournament winner Abner Mares to defect to the HBO fold.
?There?s incredible fighters in this weight class,? Donaire agreed, but ?first things first. We can?t look past Mathebula.?
That?s Arum?s job. Donaire is the showpiece on Saturday?s Boxing After Dark docket and beyond, so the question isn?t whether the 122-pound field presents worthy opponents, but whether it will play in Peoria. Boxing experts love contemplating Donaire-Rigondeaux. Fans just want to see Donaire eviscerate whomever the way he eviscerated Montiel in February 2011.
And yet, when he tried to eviscerate Vasquez using Roy Jones Jr.?s modus operandi, HBO?s commentators complained that he was abandoning jabs and combinations and in general the traditional boxing skills that have been Donaire?s calling card.
Donaire (28-1, 18 knockouts) counters that bad blood that cropped up in the final buildup to the Vasquez fight led to an aberrant case of headhunting on his part. ?In that fight there was a grudge,? Donaire conceded.
When he does return to his jab and boxing. he?s as good at that as anyone, he said, but ?I want it to be a short fight.?
He?s not the only one.
