Nonito Donaire not looking beyond Wilfredo Vasquez bout
MANILA, Philippines—For Nonito Donaire Jr., newly crown WBA super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux of is in the bottom of his priority list.
Donaire will debut as a super bantamweight in his Feb. 4 title bout against former WBO champ Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., and, if successful, plans to take on the big names in the division before giving the undefeated Cuban some thought.
“Guillermo goes on the back of the list,” the 2011 PSA co-Athlete of the Year told Boxingscene.com. “He hasn’t impressed me yet to where he is one of the best in the division. When I decided to move up I wanted to fight (Toshiaki) Nishioka, the WBC super bantam king, and (Jorge) Arce.”
Article continues after this advertisementNishioka is the reigning WBC super bantam king while Arce is a former WBO super bantam champion who recently slid back to the bantamweight division which he now rules.
Donaire also hinted at staying at the 122-lb class long enough to create possible super fights against either of the two champs, though he’s not thinking far ahead of Vazquez who will face him for the WBO crown at Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
The 31-year-old Rigondeaux, a Cuban defector and two-time Olympic gold medalist in the bantanweight division, knocked out erstwhile unbeaten Rico Ramos in the sixth round last week. He immediately issued a challenge to the “Filipino Flash.”
Article continues after this advertisementBut Donaire wasn’t impressed, and instead likened the muscle-bound, 5-foot-4 slugger to Argentina’s Omar Narvaez, who hid behind his gloves during their fight last October in New York City.
“He hasn’t impressed me to the point where he boils my blood and I want to jump right into training (to face him),”
Donaire was quoted as saying. “I don’t want to get back into a fight like Narvaez where the fans come and pay money to see me and then he won’t engage.”
He, however, shifted gear by saying Rigondeaux (9-0-0 with seven knockouts) is a “good fighter” who has accomplished great feats in amateurs where he was reported to have fought 400 fights, losing only 12 of them.
