The details have been ironed out, and finally the fight between Nonito Donaire and Guillermo Rigondeaux of Cuba is official. All the legal obstacles have been cleared. The bout will take place April 13 in New York City at the Radio City Music Hall. Bob Arum, head of Top Rank, announced the 6,000 seat venue would be hosting the fight yesterday.
“We’ll be coming out with an official announcement very soon,” Arum said from his headquarters located in Las Vegas.
Nonito Donaire is one of the hottest boxers in the sport. He really burst onto the scene over the past year with four impressive victories. He has quickly risen up the pound-for-pound ranks over that time.
Guillermo Rigondeaux is no slouch himself. As an amateur, he captured two Olympic gold medals and two world amateur championships. As a pro, he has yet to taste defeat.
The scrap will be a unification bout for the world super-bantamweight title. Originally, Nonito Donaire hoped to square off with Abner Mares. However, since he is under contract with Golden Boy Promotions and Donaire is with Top Rank, there were many hurdles preventing that from happening. Ultimately, things could not be ironed out, forcing Donaire to look for other options. That’s where Rigondeaux came in. Since both fight under the same, promoter, negotiations proved much simpler.
Donaire sports an impressive 30-1 record for his career with 20 knockouts. He has developed quite the reputation lately for his ability to finish his opponents once he has them reeling. Rigondeaux is considered by many to be one of, if not the best, amateur boxers of all time. As a pro he has shown flashes of his amateur brilliance, while at times seeming vulnerable.
