Muling lumagda ng bagong kontrata si four-division world titleholder Nonito Donaire sa Top Rank Promotions na magsisimula sa laban niya kay Mexican Cesar Juarez sa Disyembre 11 sa San Juan Puerto Rico para sa WBO super bantamweight title.
Nabakante ang titulo nang sibakin si Guillermo Rigondeaux ng Cuba bilang WBO 122 pounds king dahil hindi naidepensa ang titulong naagaw kay Donaire sa isang mandatory contender sa loob ng halos isang taon.
“Nonito came to the office to meet with me and sign the contract. And he said, ‘No more fooling around, no more being a celebrity. I’m a fighter, and I’m going to work hard and stay in the gym, and you will see the best Nonito Donaire you’ve ever seen,’” sabi ni Top Rank chairman Bob Arum sa ESPN.com. “I think Donaire is really serious now.
He’s a great fighter, and I don’t count him out against anybody.”
6 koponan nagbabalak ligwakin ang PVL; lilipat daw sa bagong liga?
Ngayon pa lamang, kumpiyansa si Arum na magwawagi si Donaire kay Juarez kaya ihahanda na niya ang Pilipino sa malaking laban kay WBO featherweight titleholder Vasyl Lomachenko ng Ukraine na magdedepensa ng korona kay Mexican Romulo Koasicha sa Thomas & Mack Center sa Las Vegas, Nevada sa Linggo.
“I feel good about the deal. I’ve had some setbacks, but I’ve put myself in good position with this deal,” sabi Donaire hinggil sa mahigit isang taong kontrata sa Top Rank. “We want to fight the best fighters Top Rank has to offer, and it says in the contract that Top Rank will try to make fights for me with the best available opponents, like Lomachenko and a rematch with (ex-WBA featherweight champion Nicholas) Walters.
“Those fights are there for me, and I am happy about that and happy knowing I will get the opportunity for big fights. We’re happy about the deal and the possibility of fighting the best fighters that Top Rank can make available to me,” dagdag ni Donaire na masayang lalabanan si Juarez para mabawi ang kanyang titulo. “Juarez fight was icing on the contract. I can start my rise back up. That’s the opportunity Top Rank presented to me, and it’s a good one. He’s a really rugged guy.
“That’s all we know about him. We’ve heard a lot of talk that he’s a tough guy and that he sparred with (lightweight titleholder Jorge) Linares,” dagdag ni Donaire na “fighter of the Year” noong 2012. “He can wear you down. He has the Mexican style and will try to take whatever I can dish out to him. We are not looking past him. We’re getting some tapes of him.” (Gilbert Espeña)
