Rigondeaux to fight Donaire in June 2013

By ESB - 12/18/2012 - Comments

rigondeaux4By Steve Mabbott, photo by Tom Casino — It looks like WBA World super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (11-0, 8 KO’s) will finally be getting his shot at WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire in the summer. Rigondeaux’s manager Gary Hyde is saying that Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has promised him that he’ll set up a fight between Donaire and Rigondeaux for June.

Rigondeaux, 32, has to first win his next fight on February 23rd, and then he’ll be free to face Donaire in the summer.

Hyde said to El Nuevo Herald “Rigos next fight is scheduled for February 23rd against an opponent still to be named. Promoter Bob Arum promised me Rigo-Donaire fight will be in June 2013.”
This is good news because Rigondeaux has been waiting to get a shot at Donaire for a year now, and it looks like he’ll finally be getting his big chance.

Rigondeaux was supposed to have fought on the undercard of Donaire’s fight against Jorge Arce last Saturday night, but Rigondeaux’s opponent Poonsawat Kratindaenggym failed the medial exam for the fight and they had to cancel. This was a real disappointment for Rigondeaux because he was hoping to showcase his boxing skills to help build up interest in a Donaire-Rigondeaux fight for 2013. Now Rigondeaux will have to hope he shines against whoever Arum matches him up against on February 23rd, so that he can get fans into a fight between him and Donaire.

Rigondeaux didn’t look good against his last opponent Robert Marroquin, who made it tough on Rigondeaux with his huge size and height. Marroquin, 5’8”, had a four inch height advantage over Rigondeaux, and it was like watching a fight between a super bantamweight and a light welterweight. Marroquin is simply huge for the 122 pound class, and is even bigger than Donaire.