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Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has indicated that WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire will defend his title against former two division world champion Cristian Mijares of Mexico on July 7 at the Home Depot in Anaheim, California.
Arum told the Manila Standard “it looks like he’s going to fight Mijares in Home Depot on July 7. Todd (Dubeof) made the arrangements. DuBeof is the president of Top Rank Promotions and had been negotiation with HBO Sports for the first title defense of Donaire.
Donaire’s trainer and former world champion Robert Garcia told us earlier that he had visited Donaire who had begun training some weeks ago and that he “already looked in real good shape. He looked solid, very strong.”
Once the date and opponent are confirmed, Garcia said he would join Donaire who is currently training at the Top Rank Gym in Las Vegas and would personally handle the four division world champion’s training.
Garcia said a title defense Donaire vs Mijares would be “an interesting fight” even as he noted that it would be a “tough fight because Mijares is a great champion.”
Mijares moved up to super bantamweight after his successful last defense of his IBF super flyweight title with a twelve round unanimous decision over Carlos Rueda on May 14, 2011 and won three fights in a row at 122 pounds and nine straight fights.
He scored a 3rd round TKO over Jonathan Perez on September 10, 2011 followed by another 3rd round TKO over Alejandro Valdez on December 17, 2011.
In his last fight Mijares scored a 4th round knockout over Eddy Julio to win the vacant WBC International Silver super bantamweight title.
Jake Donovan of boxingscene.com reported that Mijares “came out firing from the opening bell, firing combinations from the southpaw stance. The offense was well spread out as Mijares was equally effective to the body and upstairs. Body punching was key in preventing Julio from getting on his bike but it was a one-two combination to the chin that sent the Colombian crashing to the canvas late in the fourth. “
The 29 year old Donaire (28-1, 18 KO’s) is coming off a twelve round split decision over Wilfredo Vazquez Jr to win the WBO title at the Alamadome in San Antonio, Texas on February 4 this year in a fight where he dropped Vazquez in the 9th round and went on to win handily on the scorecards of judges Levi Martinez and Don Trella 117-110 but inconceivably lost 112-115 on the scorecard of Dr. Ruben Garcia who was booed when his scorecard was announced.
