Nonito Donaire Jr. AP FILE PHOTO/ERIC GAY
Suddenly, everybody wants a piece of Nonito Donaire Jr. Donaire’s former stablemate, Russian-Mexican Evgeny Gradovich, has joined the list of boxers seeking to challenge the newly crowned World Boxing Organization super bantamweight champion.
Gradovich, who like Donaire also trained under former Trainer of the Year Robert Garcia, told boxing scene.com he’s willing to go down to 122 pounds to gain a crack at the Filipino star.
Apart from Cesar Juarez, the Mexican whom Donaire recently decisioned for the title, and several top challengers in the WBO, the “Filipino Flash” is also being called out by the undefeated 24-year-old American Jessie Magdaleno.
Gradovich has been fighting as full featherweight (126 lb) and recently won on points over Aldimar Santos, after losing to Lee Selby via technical decision last May.
However, the 29-year-old Gradovich (20-1-1) will have to slide down in weight and fight first at 124 lb.
“I want my next fight at maybe 124 pounds to test it out and if I feel as good as I think, then I will go to 122 where there are more opportunities for me,” he said.
The 33-year-old Donaire also realized he was not fit as featherweight after he absorbed a knockout loss to Nicholas Walters last year at 126.