Donaire vacates IBF title

Donaire vacates IBF title

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino-American boxing champion Nonito Donaire Jr. has decided to relinquish the International Boxing Federation (IBF) super bantamweight title he won from Jeffrey Mathebula.

According to ESPN, Donaire only defended the World Boxing Organization (WBO) crown in his recent title fight against Japanese fighter Toshiaki Nishioka.

Donaire has decided to vacate the title since the IBF’s mandatory challengers were not opponents that HBO will likely buy for his next fight.

“It made no sense to keep the belt and pay the nearly $40,000 in sanctioning fees just to wind up being stripped a couple of months later,” said ESPN’s Dan Rafael.

Donaire’s potential opponent for December 15, Jorge Arce, is not rated by the IBF in the super bantamweight division.

Also not included in IBF’s list are World Boxing Council (WBC) super bantamweight champion Abner Mares and World Boxing Association (WBA) super bantam king Guillermo Rigondeaux.

Donaire won the IBF strap by winning a lopsided decision against South African Mathebula last July.

The Filipino Flash currently holds the WBO, the WBC Diamond and the RING Magazine super bantamweight titles.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/10/22/12/donaire-vacates-ibf-title

 

Who was his IBF mandatory?

 

They don't currently have a #1 contender at 122, but #2 and 3 are Jhonatan Romero (who?) and Takalani Ndlovu respectively.

 

Takalani Ndlovu is fighting Alejandro Lopez. I think the winner will be the IBF mando. But now that the belt is relinquished, will the fight between the two mentioned fighters be for this title?

 

NOT RATED
2 Jhonatan Romero Colombia
3 Takalani Ndlovu South Africa
4 Alejandro Lopez Mexico
5 Sasha Bakhtine Russian Federation
6 Jeffery Mathebula South Africa

 

makes sense I guess

 

Not surprising. The right choice. Money / TV exposure always trumps paper belts. These guys are small potatoes at this point.

 

I'm still surprised that Nishi agreed to fight for the WBO belt. Don't the Japanese only honor the WBC and the WBA?

 

He probably said **** it it's my last fight anyway and went for it.

Although there was a change of heart from JBC these past few weeks.

 

"...Jorge Arce is not rated by the IBF in the super bantamweight division.

Also not included in IBF’s list are World Boxing Council (WBC) super bantamweight champion Abner Mares and World Boxing Association (WBA) super bantam king Guillermo Rigondeaux."


I realize that the IBF is even more of a joke than the other governing bodies, but how is this possible?
Do they rank the Klitschko's in the HW division?

 

IBF rankings may be a joke but they're better than WBC, WBO and WBA in terms of a governing body.

 

Long gone are the days of undisputed champs ..So because HBO won't buy the fights he was forced to vacate:-(

 

Good thing there isn't a Chavez at 122 or he'd be fighting for that vacant belt on HBO real quick.

 

You kidding does he have any relatives on the sanctioning board If so watch out ..

 

Although it's much more complicated than that.

Look at Roy Jones, or Hopkins title reigns for that matter. How many undeserving mandatories they were forced to comply with in order to defend their belts and keep them. (Hopkins wanted to keep all the strap as he feels it's his negotiation leverage, not sure about Jones though)

Look at Lennox Lewis. WBA is forcing him to defend the title against their mandatory at that time, John Ruiz. Lennox told them to **** off and let go of the belt. His recognition as the true king never faded one bit.

Donaire probably shares the same frame of mind.