All?s well that ends well.
Nonito Donaire and Guillermo Rigondeaux, main protagonists in Bob Arum?s April 13 card at the Radio City Music Hall, will be on hand Thursday (Friday in Manila) in New York.
Late Tuesday night, Arum could finally heave a sigh of relief after being assured that Rigondeaux will agree to random drug testing, a provision that the 30-year-old Donaire put in the contract.
Apparently, Rigondeaux refused to sign because the contract was written in English and Arum had to find somebody who could put it in Spanish so the 32-year-old Cuban fighter could fully understand what he was getting into.
?It?s been resolved,? Arum said from Las Vegas.
Donaire had threatened not to show up for the press conference set for Thursday at 11:30 am at the B.B. King Blues Club and Grill at the trendy Times Square area if Rigondeaux doesn?t sign the contract that subjects himself to drug testing.
But in a tweet just before he went to bed, Donaire said he will take risk in flying to the Big Apple after being guaranteed by his handlers that Rigondeaux has agreed to sign after seeing the documents in his native tongue.
The Donaire-Rigondeaux duel will be for the unified world super-bantamweight championship and their matchup has left fight fans drooling with excitement.
Donaire, parading a 30-1 record with 20 knockouts, is regarded as one of the top three fighters in the world regardless of weight and he solidified his stature as an elite puncher last year with four sensational wins.
Rigondeaux, who won gold medals in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics and captured three world amateur titles, has only fought 11 times as a professional, including eight knockouts but has a wealth of amateur experience.
This will be the second time Donaire will be strutting his stuff in New York and the Filipino-American fighter has vowed to put on a show of force.
When he faced Argentine Omar Narvaez in Oct. 2011, Donaire had to settle for a lopsided points win as the South American fought to survive.
This time, Donaire has promised to do much better than the last time.
