By Ryan Burton
BoxingScene.com recently spoke to former champion Nonito Donaire about his upcoming plans. Donaire said that he would welcome a rematch against Guillermo Rigondeaux but isn't 100% sure that he can get back down to the junior featherweight limit.
"As a fighter of course you want that. (A rematch) is what you want. It's just a matter of getting the weight settled. I'm not going to lie. I'm 145 pounds right now. The last time I had a lot of issues going up in weight even though I didn't eat too much. If I properly do it I can probably get down to 122.
"In two months I will know. If I get down to 130 that's my goal. If I can't then it's going to be hell to make 122. It would be like (when I used to ) go down to 112. You know me. I'm willing to fight anybody. I don't turn fights down," Donaire stated.
Donaire said that Rigondeaux deserved the win in their April fight and praised him for his performance.
"I'm not going to make any excuses. He beat me. He got the decision and I congratulate him on that," Donaire said while explaining that he has a lot room for improvement if a rematch is to happen. He also revealed some of the problems that he had in the fight.
"Like I said I should have thrown combinations, being smart, using feints, using my legs and I wasn't doing any of that. It's sad. I was arguing with myself, telling myself 'why aren't you throwing combinations? Why aren't you following the game plan? What is wrong with you?' That is why in the last round I got hit with that right because I was fighting with myself."
The Las Vegas based Filipino-American finished up our conversation by saying that Rigondeaux did what he had to do to win the fight and that while winning the fight is always the goal, providing entertainment should be equally important. He said that no matter what he will continue to try to provide the highlight reel knockouts he has become known for.
"No disrespect. The guy did a good job against me. I'm not taking anything away from him. I fight to entertain and he fights to score points," Donaire told BoxingScene.com.
"I'm not going change my fight. As a matter of fact I fight the way he does. That's my style. That's who I am. I'm a boxer but now I use my power to entertain. Being on TV you have to entertain I think it's exciting. If I can get the one punch knockout I'm going for it. I think the fans deserve it regardless if I get a lot of negativity out of it."
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