The plan is for Nonito Donaire to face Guillermo Rigondeaux on April the
13th, most likely in New York. While it's not a fight against Abner
Mares, it's an acceptable replacement for the “Filipino Flash” - according to
many fans - and actually a more difficult bout. While the Cuban southpaw may
not bring the fan base or the marketability of Mares, he is considered a more
skilled boxer, one who could trouble Donaire.
You could make a strong
argument that this would be the most daunting challenge for either boxer thus
far in their professional careers.
There's just one problem,
however.
“They're having problems on
their side,” said Cameron Dunkin, who manages Donaire, on
Wednesday afternoon. “Our side is fine and I'm going to talk to
Todd [duBoef] about it in a few minutes.”
Both Dunkin and duBoef, President
of Top Rank, which handles both fighters, were in Los Angeles for a press
conference to officially announce the March 16th bout between Tim Bradley and Ruslan
Provodnikov. DuBoef told Maxboxing, “We always know that the Rigondeaux
saga...there's always issues. He has a manager, a co-promoter; he has things
and he's all over the place. So as far as I'm concerned, he should be very
grateful and he should be blessed to get a fight with Nonito Donaire, the ‘Fighter
of the Year,’ and to take on that challenge.”
Rigondeaux is set to receive $750,000 on his end. While that sounds lucrative on the surface, the real issue, according to sources, is that Caribe Promotions and Gary Hyde will take a significant piece of that pie. Then he still has to pay his trainer and whoever else’s hands are in his pocket.
But there is another way to
look at this. Let's say Rigondeaux ends up with just a third of that number at
the end of the day. That's still a quarter of a million dollars to a fighter
who isn't an attraction or a ticket seller (to put it mildly). Last year, when
he headlined against Rico Ramos in Las Vegas, Rigondeaux sold less than 500
tickets. You could make an argument that even at that figure, he is getting
more than his actual market value. And there's this reality: he may never
get this crack at Donaire again. It's no real secret that Dunkin prefers
another fight and it wouldn't be a shock to anyone if Donaire ends up moving up
to featherweight after this date in April (possibly against Vic Darchinyan,
which may or may not be green-lighted by HBO).
So will Rigondeaux bite the
financial bullet and take his shot at greatness?
“If he doesn't,” said
duBoef, whose company has never made Rigondeaux a real priority, “I feel sorry
for him because the train may leave the station and he may be out there.”
With nowhere to go.
SIGNING DAY FLURRIES
DuBoef says he is sick and
tired of reading and hearing about how Top Rank won’t work with other
promoters. And he gave examples - like Banner Promotions, which has Provodnikov
- of them doing so, which is true. The problem is they don't do anything with
Golden Boy Promotions (and vice-versa).....Johnathon Banks has pulled out of
his February 16th rematch versus Seth Mitchell after injuring his
thumb in sparring. Seriously, this is becoming an epidemic...Puerto Rican
Olympian Felix Verdejo will return to the ring March 23rd on a “Solo
Boxeo” card on the Island...Uh, anyone see this “Facelube” commercial with
Victor Ortiz (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIrQCN-OTDM)?
Yeah, not exactly “Mean” Joe Greene and his Coke ad; is it? [Editor’s note: …the hell?!]...Ole Miss
certainly made a statement on National Letter of Intent Day...Can any of the
Lakers’ big men stay healthy?...Miami couldn't land a much needed D-tackle but
got a real playmaker in Stacy Coley, who I think could be the best incoming
wide receiver this program has had since Andre Johnson…
Steve can be reached at k9kim@yahoo.com and he tweets at www.twitter.com/stevemaxboxing. We also have a Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/MaxBoxing, where you can discuss our content with Maxboxing readers as well as chime in via our fully interactive article comments sections.