AP
Nonito Donaire is officially set to defend his newly-earned WBO super bantamweight title against Hungarian Zsolt Bedak after the latter returned a signed contract for the bout.
Quezon City’s historic Smart Araneta Coliseum will be the venue of Donaire’s first defense of his WBO title on April 23.
Carl Moretti of Top Rank, Donaire’s promoter, told Dan Rafael of ESPN.com that the fight against Bedak is a good chance for the California-based boxer to showcase his worth in front of the Filipinos.
“It’s a great opportunity for Nonito to defend his world championship in his homeland against a world-ranked and extremely capable opponent,” Moretti said.
Donaire fought in the same venue last year where he stopped William Prado in two rounds.
Araneta was the venue of, arguably, the greatest heavyweight fight of all time when Muhammad Ali triumphed over Joe Frazier in Thrilla in Manila.
Donaire (36-3) beat Cesar Juarez via unanimous decision to take home the vacant WBO super bantamweight title in December, making him a four-division champion after reigning in the flyweight, bantamweight, and featherweight classes.
Bedak (25-1) is year younger than the 33-year-old Donaire and his April fight against the Filipino Flash will be his second crack at the title after losing his first attempt in 2010 against Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. as per BoxRec.com.