Donaire Reconciles with Top Rank

After the much-publicized tug of war between Golden Boy and Top Rank over Filipino-American boxer Nonito Donaire, Top Rank president, Todd Duboef, finally announced that after weeks of rumors the boxer is finally back in their fold.

The announcement which was released to the press last Thursday, finally puts an end to the controversy which started after Donaire scored his impressive TKO win over Fernando Montiel. An arbitrating judge ruled in March in favor of Top Rank, but another court date is still set to determine the legality of Donaire’s contract. However, this has become invalid after Donaire signed a multi-year deal with his old promotion company.

Donaire’s attempted defection initially drew a negative reaction from Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, who expressed his distaste for the Fil-Am boxer’s star power.

“I mean, it’s not like I got another Manny Pacquiao. He is a bantamweight and he wants to go up and I got four fighters who probably could beat him. You know, Lopez, Gamboa, you know, or Rigondeaux. I mean, he’s not going to beat those guys … it’s not big business,” Arum told the media shortly after the attempted migration. “He’s not a pay-per-view fighter; the Filipinos don’t support him.”

However, most of Top Rank is definitely glad that Donaire has chosen to fulfill the contract with Top Rank. As Duboef expressed in the company press announcement, “a bright future lies ahead for Nonito and Top Rank.”