Donaire plans next move to super bantamweight

MANILA—Nonito Donaire Jr. will be fighting as a bantamweight for the last time on October 22, possibly against undefeated super flyweight champion Omar Andres Narvaez of Argentina.

Donaire, the reigning WBC-WBO bantamweight champ, who is now back in training at the Undisputed Gym in San Francisco, California, is having problems making the 118-lb limit and plans to move up to super bantamweight early next year.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said he had been given a commitment to pit Donaire against the winner of a super bantamweight unification title fight between WBC super bantamweight silver champion Rafael Marquez, the brother of lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez, and Japan’s WBC champion, southpaw Toshiaki Nishioka.

Donaire said he is eager to fight the winner of the October 10 clash, adding that the planned January 2012 clash “will be a great fight.”

“For me to face the winner is exciting because they are both champions and they are both great fighters,” he said.

Donaire, who is ranked No. 3 in the pound-for-pound rankings of the prestigious Ring Magazine, is also being chased by Fernando Montiel, who won his second comeback fight on Sunday as a super bantamweight since losing his WBC-WBO titles to the “Filipino Flash” last February.

After a third-round knockout win over Nicaragua’s clearly overmatched Alvaro Perez in a scheduled 10-round bout in Baja California, Mexico, Montiel said he will seek a rematch with Donaire at 122 pounds.