By Cliff Rold

This Saturday night, the man viewed by most as the best of the current Flyweights, IBF titlist Nonito Donaire (21-1, 14 KO) of the Philippines, ventures up the scale three pounds to a Jr. Bantamweight class ready for the infusion of talent he brings.  He’ll face tough Mexican Rafael Concepcion (13-3-1, 8 KO) and don’t let the record fool you.  Concepcion should be seen as a decided underdog, and it would be surprising if he won, but he did spoil the undefeated record of Filipino AJ Banal last year and gave a good fight to veteran Jorge Arce.

It’s a long shot, but still a shot nonetheless. 

Let’s assume Donaire wins.  It is the most likely outcome and with victory opens up a scenario both intriguing and full of boxing silliness.  If Donaire defeats Concepcion, he will be bestowed with the deep honor of being the WBA’s interim titlist at 115 lbs.  It is an award so fraught with integrity and esteem that it will make Donaire only the third active fighter in the division to hold the belt.

Right now.

That’s right.  For some reason, four major sanctioning body belts are not enough.  Now even those belts must be split and filleted, the notion of “World” titles further devalued into a sporting equivalent of an appearance on the old Hollywood Squares meaning its worth a little recognition but doesn’t speak much to accomplishment.

After he has the belt, Donaire can be announced as a two-time champion but, c’mon, won’t it really be 1 1/3? 

All kidding aside, Donaire won’t need a trinket to further establish the obvious.  With speed and power, the 26-year old has emerged from the low points of the scale to gather bigger attentions and in this case the WBA’s absurdities could work in the favor of the fans.  It has to do with a convenience of circumstance, but Donaire’s presence would mean the WBA arguably recognizes all three of the division’s best fighters at the same time.  Some real fights could be expected from the mix.

At the top of the ladder is the WBA’s “Super” champion, a distinction created to allow unified titlists to continue paying sanctioning fees rather than be stripped of belts (while allowing someone else to pay sanctioning fees too…see, win-win!).  Super-champ right now happens also to be the real World champion at Jr. Bantamweight and a familiar face for Donaire. 

Vic Darchinyan (32-2-1, 26 KO) may be coming off a loss at Bantamweight but has done nothing to disavow himself of the championship he earned in blitzing 115 lbs. in 2008.  He is unlikely to pursue a rematch with the last man to defeat him, IBF Bantamweight titlist Joseph Agbeko, but what about the first?  While Darchinyan’s promoter has expressed extreme reluctance to do business with a former charge he sees as disloyal, Darchinyan-Donaire II wouldn’t need much build to become one of the biggest western market fights ever in the class.

In this case, a WBA ‘interim’ belt could come in handy when the WBA mandatory come due (even Supers have those). 

Of course, the WBA could always order a box-off first between the interim champ and the man between the Super stratosphere: the WBA's ‘regular’ champion.  In this case, regular doesn’t have to mean average or dull.  Quite the opposite in fact as that accolade goes to Japan’s Nobuo Nashiro (13-1, 8 KO).  Like Concepcion, don’t let Nashiro’s limited mark fool.  The 27-year old won his first major belt by unseating the excellent Martin Castillo in only his eighth fight.  Losing the belt in his second defense, versus Alexander Munoz, was no shame as it spoke to a consistency in opposition which has held since he toppled Hidenobu Honda in his fourth pro outing.

He captured the belt he currently holds against serious top ten foe Kohei Kono and in his last fight, versus Konosuke Tomiyama, proved the ability to get off the floor and win by knockout.  Nashiro may not be known much in the U.S. but, make no mistake, Donaire-Nashiro could be one hell of a fight.

If the WBA orders the fights, and the fighters take them, this could be the rare case where something so wrong could actually work out right. 

Donaire is not just a Flyweight champion right now.  He has crept on to a number of pound-for-pound lists since knocking Darchinyan silly in five rounds in July 2007.  Fights like Nashiro and a Darchinyan rematch can further prove his place and mount pressure for major networks to pay more attention to his career. 

It doesn’t hurt that Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao is getting older.  While the thrills of Pacquiao’s career seem to be at a lengthy peak, that can change quickly.  Pacquiao has been a pro since the mid-1990s and may not have as long as it feels right now.  Donaire could be the man to fill some of the void which will be left.

Altogether, it makes this one of the few times where ‘interim’ is interesting.

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com