By Ryan Maquiñana
In a battle of former world title challengers, Glenn Donaire will take the next step in his comeback March 16 against Omar Soto in a flyweight bout at the Auditorio El Plaza Condesa in Mexico City.
Donaire (18-4-1, 10 KOs), a resident of San Leandro, Calif., by way of General Santos City, Philippines, returned from a three-year hiatus to post a victory in his first fight back, a fifth-round stoppage of former strawweight titlist Alex “Nene” Sanchez in December for an interim minor belt.
The older brother of junior featherweight titlist Nonito Donaire Jr., he was originally slated to fight Edgar Jimenez on Mar. 23, but after specifics could not be worked out, Donaire’s new promoter Felix “Tuto” Zabala found him a new slot.
Soto (22-8-2, 15 KOs), meanwhile, is coming off a second-round knockout loss at the hands of Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez’s WBA 108-pound belt last October where he came in 3.5 pounds overweight and was therefore ineligible to challenge for the title anyway. As a native of Mexico City, he will undoubtedly enjoy a hometown advantage.
Ryan Maquiñana writes a weekly column for Comcast SportsNet Bay Area (CSNBayArea.com). He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and Ring Magazine’s Ratings Panel. E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com , check out his blog at norcalboxing.net or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.
