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Underdog Boxing: Donaire should clean up the bantamweight division


Do you still remember who the last boxer to hold all four titles at the same time was? You don’t? I don’t either. That’s why Nonito Donaire should fight two more times in the bantamweight division. One fight should be against WBA champion Anselmo Moreno and the other against the winner of the fight between IBF champion Joseph Agbeko and Abner Mares. Donaire currently holds the WBO and WBC titles and if the stars align, we may be looking at an undisputed and unified champion by the end of the year. A lot of boxing fans have lost a certain amount of respect towards the governing bodies; and rightly so, if I may add. There is so much politics going on behind the scenes and everyone’s after their own gains instead of working together for the sport. Instead of having one champion per division, the governing bodies have regular champions, super champions, emeritus champions, and interim champions. The result is a bunch of undeserving title-holders and very few legitimate champions. In a perfect world, there will only be one governing body and one champion per weight class. The champions fight thrice a year with everyone beneath them in the rankings fighting each other to prove who the next challenger should be. But we all know this is not the perfect world. This is why Donaire needs to do the next best thing. He needs to unify the four bantamweight titles now. Sure, there are bigger fights in the super bantamweight and featherweight divisions but Donaire has a legitimate chance to do something that no one has done for a very long time. Manny Pacquiao has cemented his legacy by winning his eighth title last year. Donaire should cement his own legacy by holding all four titles at the same time. Donaire has the old-school boxer aura. He doesn’t choose opponents; he just brings down whoever is lined up in front of him. If he unifies the belts, he will surely bring back the feel of the golden years in boxing; back in the days when being the champion really meant something. Fights against Juan Manuel Lopez, Wilfredo Vazquez, Jr., Yuriorkis Gamboa, and the other stars in the super bantamweight and featherweight divisions can wait. Right now, Doanire’s eyes should be focused on the bantamweight division. I know Bob Arum has openly stated that he isn’t particularly interested in making the fights for Donaire at 118 lbs but hopefully there will be enough interest (and money) to make it worth Arum’s while. Boxing is a business, I get it. But sometimes it should be more than just the amount of money involved. The survival of boxing is hinged upon the support of the people. If people continue to talk about it, it will thrive. If people stop talking about it, boxing will die little by little. Will a champion holding all of the four belts in his weight division get people talking? The answer is yes; a resounding yes. -- OMG, GMA News

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