By Phil D. Jay
After a spring spent involved in contract wrangles with current promoters Top Rank and future handlers Golden Boy Promotions, WBC and WBO bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire just wants to get back in the ring and defend the belts he ripped away from Fernando Montiel so impressively last February.
Donaire, 28, walked away from the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas as one of the recognised pound for pound best in the world and seemingly had the world at his feet, with no end to the offers being thrown at the 118lb champion. Things haven’t quite worked out that way for the Filipino, as a proposed move to Golden Boy has been vetoed by an arbitrator and his May bout with Anselmo Moreno evaporated in front of his eyes with all the uncertainty surrounding his career.
The two-weight world champion recently announced on social networking sites that he is just “anxious to get my fight date” and organized a poll amongst his fans to see who they would like him to fight, with bantamweight tournament finalist Abner Mares coming out on top.
The 25 year-old Mexican is sure to be tied up in the Showtime tournament for the foreseeable future as opponent Jospeh Agbeko is still recovering from a pinched nerve and their signed bout is set to be re-arranged in the next few weeks, leaving any potential bout on hold until at least October.
That leaves Donaire with limited options for a summer showdown, with all of the current 118lb champions either signed in to fight or having just fought, leaving a move to 122lbs the only viable option to pick another title before the end of summer. Of course, it is probable that Donaire will make his first defence of the unified crown, possibly against Christian Esquivel, before he moves up to tackle a fourth weight division in just over two years.