WBO junior featherweight titleholder Nonito Donaire wants to be the undisputed champion of his division, a quest he says will begin with an HBO-televised victory over IBF beltholder Jeffrey Mathebula on July 7 at Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif.
In a recent interview with RingTv.com Nonito said if successful his ready to challenge some big names.
“But we do have Jorge Arce and Nishoka. We have a lot of guys. There’s Guillermo Rigondeaux or Abner Mares even. The guys who hold the belts.
My longtime dream has been to become the undisputed champion. So if everything goes well with Mathebula, then we can go and get the WBA or the WBC belt.”
RingTV.com: Is there an order of preference with these fights?
ND: With Mares or whoever has the belt and is willing to negotiate the fight, that’s who I want to fight. I think that a Mares fight is a good possibility.
But I think that the best guy in this division that I want to prove myself against is Nishioka. I think that Nishioka is the better guy of all of these guys.
He’s proven himself above all of these guys, and I promised him that I would fight him. So maybe if everything goes well this year, then maybe I can fight him in another fight.
I’m hoping. I did promise Nishioka, but I just definitely, after Nishioka, want to fight guys who have the belt. I’ve told my manager, Cameron Dunkin, that we want to fight all of those guys. I want to be undisputed.
So if those guys want to fight me, then, please, just hold on to your belts, because I want to come after them. I’m fighting for the IBF belt, and then I want to fight another champion.