Nonito Donaire's Next Fight: Cristian Mijares Tentatively Set For July 14, Cowboys Stadium

Nonito Donaire will be back in action on July 14, in a card Top Rank hopes to make Mexico vs Philippines at Texas' Cowboys Stadium with Juan Manuel Marquez potentially facing Mercito Gesta in the main event, but while his fairly swift return to the ring is good news, I doubt many are going to be happy about the choice of opponent.

Former super flyweight titlist Cristian Mijares is slated to face Donaire on July 14, according to Ronnie Nathanielsz, who spoke with promoter Bob Arum about the idea.

Mijares (44-6-2, 20 KO) has a fight set right now against Cruz Carbajal (32-18-2, 26 KO) in Mexico on April 14, and should he win as expected, he will face Donaire three months later.

While Mijares, 30, is a very skilled boxer and has bounced back nicely from a three-fight losing streak in 2008-09, he's just not a difficult matchup on paper for Donaire, and oddly enough, Mijares is hardly known as an exciting fighter, which sure makes it strange considering Donaire's issues with fighting Guillermo Rigondeaux because he's boring or too technical or whatever.

Mijares also isn't really a super bantamweight, and really hasn't had any notable success over 115 pounds. This fight, should it come off as planned, would lead to a September date for Donaire against Jorge Arce, at least in theory. Donaire vs Arce has been rumored a couple of times now, but keeps being put off for whatever reason.

Mijares' most famous win to date came in 2007, when he brutalized Arce over 12 rounds on the Manny Pacquiao vs Jorge Solis undercard.

The other main candidate to face Donaire in July was Victor Terrazas (32-2-1, 18 KO), who is coming off of an upset win over Fernando Montiel. Donaire last fought on February 4 in San Antonio, soundly but rather routinely defeating Wilfredo Vazquez Jr on HBO.