There’s been talk of the 29-year-old Donaire moving up in weight to the featherweight division after he beats Nishioka and 33-year-old Jorge Arce. However, I think Donaire’s ceiling in terms of weight is super bantamweight. If Donaire makes the mistake of moving up another weight class to featherweight he’s going to find out the hard way that he’s no longer going to be a truly elite fighter.
I believe he can maybe pick up a paper title against someone like Chris John or Billy Dib, but I don’t see those guys as real champions. To me they’re paper title holders and I suspect those are the guys that Donaire would be aimed at if he moved up another weight class rather than facing the division’s best fighter in WBO featherweight champion Orlando Salido. Donaire won’t take that fight, so there’s no real worry there because it won’t happen in a million years.
It would be great if Donaire stuck around at super bantamweight and fought WBA champion Guillermo Rigondeax or WBC champion Abner Mares, but one gets the feeling that neither of those guys are in Donaire’s future plans that are being put together by Arum. If Arum let Donaire fight Rigondeaux, he’d just get beaten and that would ruin the Donaire money train before it had started really bringing in the cash.
You have to remember that Manny Pacquiao, Arum’s number #1 money making fighter, is showing signs of slowing down and wearing out. When Pacquiao call’s it quits, Arum is going to need another money fighter that can take Pacquiao’s place in pay per view bouts and Donaire is the guy that will do that. The casual boxing fans won’t figure out that Donaire isn’t facing some guys in the division, and as such, they won’t blame him if he doesn’t take on someone like Rigondeaux.
Donaire doesn’t have the frame to compete against the true class of the featherweight division, and if he tries it he’s going to be sorry unless he’s aimed the paper champs.
No comments:
Post a Comment