Nonito Donaire (29-1, 18 KO) is officially going to face Japanese legend Toshiaki Nishioka (39-4-3, 24 KO) on Oct. 13 after Jorge Arce (60-6-2, 46 KO) dropped out due to various reasons.
Ring Magazine reports that Donaire-Nishioka will be televised on HBO and take place at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.
Mexican legend Arce was originally set to fill the role Nishioka currently resides in, but requests for more money and a September tune-up have effectively taken him out of the fight.
Donaire will defend the WBO and IBF junior featherweight world titles he won against Wilfredo Vazquez (21-2, 18 KO) and Jeffrey Mathebula (26-4-2, 14 KO) respectively.
After winning world titles in three prior divisions—flyweight, super flyweight and bantamweight—Donaire faced Vazquez this past February in his first match at junior featherweight.
Donaire won by split decision, but did not display the type of dominating effort that captured the world's attention when he knocked out Fernando Montiel (48-4-2, 37 KO) with a left hand in Round 2.
In an effort to establish a more impressive performance at junior featherweight, he faced 5'11" Mathebula. The 5'7" Donaire is used to enjoying a height advantage.
Not only did Donaire dominate, he broke Mathebula's jaw in two places in route to an unanimous decision. Donaire and his peers consider Nishioka to be the best in the division.
After defeating Mexican legend Rafael Marquez (40-7, 36 KO) last year, the 36-year-old has been inactive as he awaits a worthy challenger to inspire him to return to the ring.
On the undercard will be undefeated former lightweight champion Brandon Rios (30-0-1, 22 KO), making his junior welterweight debut against Mike Alvarado (33-0, 23 KO) in what will be a slugfest.
Rios and Alvarado come to fight and care nothing for defense. It's safe to predict there will be blood and probably a knockout between the two of them.
Donaire-Nishioka is definitely an upgrade over Donaire-Arce in that it will be seen as a much more competitive and intriguing matchup.
Overall, it's a great looking card and a night to look forward to.
For more Boxing and sports news and analysis, follow me on Twitter @justindavidtate.
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