By Ryan Maquiñana
Nonito Donaire told BoxingScene.com last Saturday that he will seek further medical attention after re-opening a cut over his left hand following his latest junior featherweight title win over Toshiaki Nishioka.
“Yeah, I’m probably going to see a specialist to see what to do about it because this problem keeps happening,” Donaire said while displaying the bandaged hand. “I had to get about nine to 11 stitches on it.”
The reigning junior featherweight champion subsequently showed this writer pictures of a swollen left hand that was not fractured , but featured a substantial cut over the knuckles of his middle and index fingers.
“When I hit Nishioka with that left uppercut, [I] probably [re-opened the cut] there,” Donaire said, who utilized the aforementioned punch to floor his foe in the sixth round before finishing him off in the ninth with an expertly placed counter right hand.
The injury has been lagging since February during his win over Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., when Donaire ruptured a vein over the same hand.
“I hope this is something that can be fixed, but either way, I’m a fighter, and this is just part of the sport,” Donaire said.
Top Rank CEO Bob Arum has already mentioned matching Donaire with Mexico’s Jorge Arce next.
“Anyone who wants it,” Donaire said. “I just beat the top guy in the division, and if they want it, let’s make it happen, and if not, I can challenge myself at 126 [pounds].”
Ryan Maquiñana was the boxing producer for NBCOlympics.com during London 2012 and writes a weekly column for CSNBayArea.com. He is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Ratings Panel for Ring Magazine. E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com , check out his blog at Norcalboxing.net, or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.
