Mares or Rigo in April? Take your pick


Golden Boy Promotions has offered Mexican Abner Mares—with a $3 million purse as bait—to be Nonito Donaire Jr.'s opponent when he fights this summer.

Mares, the World Boxing Council junior featherweight champion, is hoping Donaire's Top Rank promoter would not seal an April fight for Donaire against two-time Olympic champion Guillermo Rigondeaux.

The 27-year-old Mexican (24-0-1, with 13 knockouts) wanted to unify the 122-pound belts, two of which—World Boxing Organization and The Ring—Donaire holds.

Mares said that Donaire's camp should stop making excuses and start negotiating for a possible June bout. Golden Boy Promotions has already formalized its offer to Top Rank chairman Bob Arum and Cameron Dunkin, Donaire's manager.

Dunkin and Arum admitted they received Golden Boy’s contract but BoxingScene.com reported that both turned down the offer and opted to pursue an April 13 bout for Donaire against World Boxing Association super bantamweight titlist Rigondeaux (11-0, with eight knockouts).

Mares stressed the offer is not a bluff. '[Donaire] is complaining about the contact details and making excuses. Okay, Nonito could've easily counter-offered in writing," he said on BoxingScene.com's radio show The Boxing Lab.

"[Golden Boy] said 'here's $3 mil' and [Donaire] said 'no thanks, that's just a bluff, put it on paper.' What did we do? We put it on paper. Then they said, 'oh, that’s not a legitimate contract.' What did we do? We put it out there, 13 pages," said Mares.

"Now what's his excuse? 'Oh, it's not a good contract.' We’ll send your counter offer and we'll make it happen. But that only lets us know he’s not trying to make the fight happen. I'm not saying [Donaire's] scared of me. Of course, he's not, he's a fighter but let's make that fight happen for the fans."

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