According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Super Bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire hurt his left hand during his Saturday night title win over Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. but that hand was deemed ok after x-rays were negative.
“My hand is swollen and there is damaged soft tissue, but everything is good,” Donaire said. “The doctor said I need three or four weeks to get the proper healing and then I can go.”
“The blood was because I popped a little vein in there, near the knuckle area, but it was nothing major, just bloody,” Donaire said. “It was a vein and that’s why it was bleeding a lot. It kept bleeding and didn’t stop bleeding until the next day. My hand kept bleeding after the fight. I guess from all the impact, I popped a vein.
“It looked really bad and it felt so painful for a couple of days, but it was unbearable in the later rounds of the fight. I’m just very thankful that there’s nothing seriously wrong and that I will be ready to go when we get our next date from Top Rank.”
Top Rank, Donaire’s promoter, plans to match him with Mexican star Jorge Arce, who vacated the title Donaire (28-1, 18 KOs) won to move down and claim one of the bantamweight belts Donaire had relinquished. Arce (59-6-2, 45 KOs) would move back up to 122 to challenge Donaire.
“I’m fine with fighting Arce next. That’s a fight I’ve been looking at,” Donaire, 29, said. “Whoever it is, I will be ready. Tell me who I am fighting and I will train to the best of my ability. In three or four weeks my hand should be healed and I will be ready to go. Everything is good. My hand is OK, I got my title and I’m happy.
