Super Bantamweight world champions Nonito Donaire & Jeffrey Mathebula have agreed to meet on July 7th in Carson, California according to Dan Rafael of espn.com
“Any time you can unify a title it’s a good thing,” said Top Rank’s Carl Moretti. “And any time you can unify the title in a meaningful division, which junior featherweight is, it’s an even better thing. It’s a legit fight. Mathebula is a little awkward and he’s taller than Donaire. Matheubula is always in shape and has no reservations about coming to the United States for the fight.
“It’s a fight that Nonito asked for,” said Donaire’s manager Cameron Dunkin. “Top Rank was offering us other fighters, Mijares and Marroquin to name two, but he wanted a unification fight. Nonito thought this guy (Mathebula) was a great fighter and would push him to the limit. Nonito said, ‘I want something that will fire me up and this guy presents me with a challenge.’
“Nonito is usually the taller guy. He won’t be for this fight, so I asked him if he wanted that problem,” Dunkin said. “He said he did. He said, ‘I want somebody that will really motivate me.’ I said, ‘OK.’ I think this will motivate him but it’s a dangerous fight, a scary fight. But it’s what he wanted. He specifically asked for it.”
“I have worked with Top Rank before and again these negotiations were fair and we reached the deal,” said Mathebula’s promoter Branco Milenkovic. “Now I am excited that Jeffrey is getting an opportunity to fight a great fighter like Nonito Donaire. I know there were some other names being mentioned. I am not downplaying Mijares, but Jeffrey has more ability.
“If I believed Jeffrey had no chance to win this fight, I wouldn’t make the fight. He can win the fight and he is excited to make his first trip to America to fight a big fight and be on HBO. Without a doubt, Nonito is the favorite. He’s a great fighter, but I believe Jeffrey will come to win. My fighters always come to put on a good performance.”
The HBO undercard has not been set yet but former lightweight titlist Brandon Rios, who is also managed by Dunkin, likely will open the telecast in a junior welterweight bout. Moretti said Rios’ appearance was not locked in but Dunkin said he thought it would be Rios.
Dunkin said the most likely opponent for Rios is Mauricio Herrera (18-2, 7 KOs), 31, who is coming off a competitive 10-round decision loss to Mike Alvarado in an all-action slugfest that is a fight of the year candidate.
