Tag: Bantamweight

Nonito Donaire to take on Nordine Oubaali for bantamweight title

Nonito Donaire will have another opportunity to win a world title against Nordine Oubaali in a fight to take place later this year.

Nonito Donaire will soon have another shot at a bantamweight title.

The Filipino veteran, coming off his Fight of the Year effort against 118-pound titleholder Naoya Inoue in November, is set to challenge Nordine Oubaali for the Frenchman’s WBC belt.

The fight was consummated earlier this week after TGB Promotions was the only promoter to turn in a bid ($401,000) for the bout. The fight will most likely take place on a Premier Boxing Champions card as TGB promotes the majority of PBC cards. The date and venue have not yet been determined.

Donaire (40-6, 26 KOs) lost a unanimous decision to Inoue but was lauded for his spirited performance. Donaire was expected to get blown out; instead, he tested Inoue throughout the fight, opening up a cut early on and breaking the Japanese dynamo’s nose and orbital bone.

Oubaali (17-0, 12 KOs) defeated Rau’shee Warren by a unanimous decision to win the then-vacant title in January of last year. He followed that with successful defenses against Arthur Villanueva and Takuma Inoue.

The WBC designated Donaire as Oubaali’s mandatory after Luis Nery failed to make weight for his fight against Emmanuel Dominguez on Nov. 23.

Guillermo Rigondeaux vs. Liborio Solis canceled because of Solis visa issues

The Guillermo Rigondeaux vs. Liborio Solis bantamweight bout is no longer a go after Solis was not able to get a valid visa.

Guillermo Rigondeaux will have to wait for another day to make his bantamweight debut.

According to multiple media outlets, the Cuban southpaw’s scheduled fight against Venezuelan Liborio Solis on the Tony Harrison-Jermell Charlo II card this Saturday in Ontario, Calif. was scrapped because Solis couldn’t get a visa in time for the fight.

Rigondeaux (19-1, 13 KOs) is coming off an unexpected slugfest against Julio Ceja at the junior featherweight limit in June, in which the Cuban won by eighth-round technical knockout. Rigondeaux hasn’t campaigned at 118 pounds since his amateur days.

Rigondeaux was a two-time Olympic champion and has won two junior featherweight titles as a professional.

Premier Boxing Champions has had bad luck with bantamweight bouts. Last month, the Luis Nery-Emmanuel Rodriguez bantamweight fight was nixed after Nery failed to make weight.

Guillermo Rigondeaux vs. Liborio Solis added to Harrison-Charlo II card

Cuban slickster Guillermo Rigondeaux will face Liborio Solis on the undercard of the Tony Harrison-Jermell Charlo rematch on December 21.

We’ll see soon whether  Guillermo Rigondeaux has really turned into a slugger.

The noted Cuban slickster will move down in weight to face Panamanian Liborio Solis in a 12-round bantamweight contest on the Tony Harrison-Jermell Charlo II card Dec. 21 in Ontario, California, it was announced today in a press release.

Rigondeaux (19-1, 13 knockouts) has been roundly criticized for putting on dull performances. However, in his last fight, he surprised viewers by staying in the pocket and trading punches with Julio Ceja, who was stopped by a whistling left hand in the eighth round of a junior featherweight fight he was winning on the cards.

After the bout, the victor seemed to suggest that his tactics were a response to his critics. It could be that at age 39, Rigondeaux no longer has the legs to evade his opponents for 12 rounds.

As for the 37-year-old Solis (30-5-1, 14 KOs), this will be his first fight on U.S. soil. He has dropped decisions to former titleholders Shinsuke Yamanka and Jamie McDonnell but is riding a five-fight win streak.

The card will also feature hard-hitting Nigerian heavyweight prospect Efe Ajagba (11-0, 9 KOs) in a 10-rounder against Iago Kiladze (26-4-1, 18 KOs).