Following the loss of his WBO, Ring Magazine and WBC Diamond Belt super bantamweight championships to Guillermo Rigondeaux on Saturday night in New York City, Nonito Donaire plans to move up in weight for his next fight. There, he has his eyes on a meeting with former WBO featherweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez to take place later in the year.
Top Rank boss Bob Arum was quoted after his loss to Rigondeaux that Donaire “really struggled to make the weight and I think that took a little zip out of him and this kid Rigondeaux was awfully fast and awfully elusive.”
He further indicated that it was likely that a fight with Lopez at 126 pounds in Puerto Rico would take place towards the end of 2013.
Because Donaire said that he may have to undergo surgery to repair the torn ligament he said he has in his right shoulder, it is unclear exactly when the fight will take place. Arum said it depends on how well the operation goes.
In addition to the injury, Donaire’s wife is also pregnant, so he was not scheduled to return to action until at least September anyway, after the child is born. This would allow Donaire proper time to spend with his wife and newborn child.
In Juan Manuel Lopez, Donaire would find a fighter much more suitable to his style, instead of the elusive Rigondeaux. A southpaw, Lopez likes to engage his opponent, a strategy that has not done him any favors in recent contests. The former WBO featherweight champion, he lost his title to Orlando Salido by TKO in April of 2011. He would go on to lose their rematch as well, again falling by TKO in March of last year.
Before Lopez’s fall from grace, he was able to defend his title at super bantamweight a couple of times. In 2009, he had a brutal fight with Gerry Penalosa, who eventually had to retire in the tenth round. Also, he beat Bernabe Concepcion by 2nd round TKO in 2010, after suffering his own knockdown in the first.
The 29 year old Lopez has a record of 32-2 with 29 knockouts. Once labeled by himself and Bob Arum as the newest superstar in boxing, Lopez has not lived up to the hype, despite still acting as if it is true.
