Donaire Versus Estrada for WBC Dual Titles Possible?
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 02 Feb 2023
Nonito Donaire is left without an opponent to fight for the WBC bantamweight crown left vacant by erstwhile undisputed world champion Naoya Inoue.
This after original foe Jason Moloney through his promoter Top Rank broke off talks with Probellum which is handling Donaire in the WBC ordered negotiation for the fight. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman himself confirmed that Moloney is no longer pursuing a fight against Donaire to fill up the WBC championship. The reason given is that Bob Arum does not have anything to do with Probellum which he said is owned by a suspected criminal.
The WBC hence is now reviewing other fighters in its ranking to pit against Donaire which is not easy to do as other top ranking bantamweights as Vincent Astrolabio and Reymart Gaballo who are both Filipinos like Donaire and Puerto Rican Emmanuel Rodriguez are more likely to vie for the other titles left vacant by Inoue in other world boxing bodies as IBF, WBO and WBA which is the route Moloney will now also take.
BoxingScene said that Mexican Alejandro Barrios is being considered as Donaire's opponent. Barrios gained prominence some years back when he held then Filipino long reigning IBF world super flyweight titlist Jerwin Ancajas to a fighting draw. He has since been undefeated in his succeeding fights the most recent was the stoppage of former world title challenger Antonio Nieves.
However, the WBC can once again make history by sanctioning a clash between Donaire and Juan Francisco Estrada for Estrada's WBC super flyweight title and the vacant WBC bantamweight crown in a catchweight title fight at 116 lbs.
The WBC has done that before but in the higher weights when it sanctioned a fight between middleweight titlist Sugar Ray Leonard and light heavyweight champion Donnie Lalonde for the newly created WBC super middleweight crown at a catchweight of 168 lbs. which is the new division's maximum limit. Leonard won that fight via late round stoppage.
Some pundits are also advocating a fight between Donaire and Roman Chocolatito Gonzalez for the vacant WBC bantamweight belt but Gonzales is also no longer super flyweight titlist.
It is no secret that Donaire is bidding to make record by winning a fifth division world championship at super flyweight after emerging victorious at flyweight, bantamweight, super bantamweight and featherweight. He is the first fighter to win a second and third tenure as world bantamweight champion moving down in weight and the oldest at age 36 and 38 respectively.
The only question is if Estrada would be willing to fight above his current weight division as super flyweight where Estrada himself is on his second tenure as WBC super flyweight titlist since 2018. Estrada won the WBC super flyweight crown by outpointing compatriot Carlos Cuadras in 2016. But he lost the same to Thai Wisaksil Wangek better known as Srisaket Sor Rungvusai on points the following year. He regained the crown by narrowly outpointing Rungvusai in 2018. He has since successfully defended the title four times, twice against former conqueror Roman Chocolatito Gonzalez, thereby finishing their own "business".
A third division world title at bantamweight however would be a strong motivation enough for Estrada to get out of his comfort zone at 115 lbs. After being frustrated by Gonzalez in his first world title bid at light flyweight, Estrada went on to win the WBC flyweight title by decisioning FilAm defending champion Brian Viloria in 2012. After a couple of successful title defenses, Estrada moved up in weight and won the WBC super flyweight crown from Cuadras.
From boxing point and business sense, a dual title fight between Donaire and Estrada is the more natural at this juncture.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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