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The supposedly done August rematch between Nonito Donaire and Vic Darchinyan is off, reports Ronnie Nathanielsz. Donaire's wife Rachel says that Darchinyan doesn't want anything to do with Donaire, and she is unsure whether it was the money or something else.
She did say that based on what Top Rank told her, "now Darchinyan will really look like a coward." Gary Shaw and Darchinyan have yet to comment.
Raise your hand if this surprises you. We'll wait.
It's time to forget about Donaire-Darchinyan II. Whatever the real reason is, it's not happening, so let's forget about it and move on. They've been trying to put this together for about two years now and it's fallen through every time.
As we do move on, Ray Wheatley said a few days ago that Darchinyan will fight on May 20 in Australia against Filipino Richard Garcia (21-10-1, 5 KO). It was probably meant to be a tune-up, but if that fight goes through now, it'll be Darchinyan's second straight mismatch.
As for Donaire, the plan there is reportedly to have him in yet another uninteresting fight on a Yuriorkis Gamboa card in July, and then to move him forward for a fight with Fernando Montiel later this year. Montiel has the WBC and WBO titles at 118 pounds, and though he does have an obligation to fight Eric Morel right now (or the Morel-Jorge Arce winner, if that fight happens), remember that that's a WBO obligation. Having another belt (the one favored by Mexican fighters) might mean he's willing to part with the WBO strap.