By Lem Satterfield
WBA interim-super flyweight champion Nonito Donaire is planning a move in weight after Saturday's fight with Hernan Marquez in Puerto Rico. Donaire waited around at super flyweight for a rematch with Vic Darchinyan that never came. Now he wants the titles and the lucrative names in the higher weight divisions.
The fight at the top of Donaire's wishlist would come against WBC/WBO bantamweight champion Fernando Montiel. Donaire's rival, Darchinyan, has already made a move to bantamweight with a recent win in Australia to pick up the vacant IBO title. Donaire doesn't plan on staying at bantamweight for long. He wants to make a jump to super bantamweight after a few fights.
"I made it clear that this fight against Marquez is the very last time that I will reach 115, and then, I'm going up to 118 pounds. And if I get a title shot at 118, I might stay there for maybe one fight. And then, I want to move up to 122. If I was to beat Montiel, and then, there was a good offer on the table at 118, then, you know what? I might stay at 118 for maybe for one more fight," said Donaire.
"But after that, you know, I'm really going to be willing to move up. Because there are a lot of guys up at the higher weights who have a good name, and, I'm willing to mix it up with them. I'll be more comfortable at the higher levels than staying at 118 pounds if there isn't anything else."
Before he looks too far ahead, he has to beat Marquez, a tough Mexican contender with only one loss, by decision, to another Filipino, 23-year-old Richie Mepranum. In a few recent interviews, Marquez called the Mepranum loss "a bad day." Marquez has never been down as a pro, which makes Donaire very eager to become the first fighter to knock him out.
"For me, in every fight, the most satifying victory is a knockout victory, and I always go for the knockout victory if I see it. The biggest thing that I want to show is that everybody knows that this guy has never been down. He's made a big deal out of the fact that he had a bad day in his last fight against Mepranum," said Donaire.
"Marquez said that he's never been down, and that he's been in with some really tough guys, and that he's a tough fighter. So it's a big challenge in my head that hey, 'I'm going to take him out. It would be a satisfying victory that I want, and if I can do it, I will. But I'm going to be smart about it. If the opportunity is there, I will take the opportunity."
Lem Satterfield is the boxing editor at AOL FanHouse and the news editor at BoxingScene.com. To read more from Lem Satterfield, go to AOL FanHouse by Clicking Here.
