WATCH: Nonito Donaire challenges all comers at junior featherweight

CEBU, Philippines – Nonito Donaire isn’t overly concerned with whom he faces next after his easy 3-round demolition of overmatched Hungarian Zsolt Bedak on Saturday night, April 23 in Cebu City. 

The WBO junior featherweight titleholder Donaire, 33, dropped Bedak 3 times in the fight before the referee waved off the contest at the 2:44 mark. Bedak, who was fighting outside of Europe for just the second time as a pro, was unable to handle the speed and power of the 4-division champion, who was born in Bohol but raised in San Leandro, California.  

Afterwards, Donaire welcomed all challengers in the 122-pound division, where he had previously reigned as a unified and lineal champion.

“We’re not sitting on this throne for a long time by fighting a B and C guys, we’re fighting the elite guys,” said Donaire (37-3, 24 knockouts). 

“I’m always willing to fight anybody. [IBF titleholder Carl] Frampton, [Guillermo] Rigondeaux, [WBC titleholder Hugo] Ruiz and [Jessie] Magdaleno as well. That’s Top Rank’s job to make it happen.

“Anybody that feels like they are better than me, come inside the ring. I’m waiting for them.”

The win was Donaire’s first defense of the WBO title he won in a back-and-forth brawl with tough Mexican Cesar Juarez in December. Donaire says he’s worked on maintaining a healthier lifestyle between fights, keeping his walkaround weight around 133-135 instead of ballooning up to 150 as he had in previous fights, in an effort to maximize his potential in the later stages of his career. 

One lesson he has learned is not to face opponents who are too big for him, as was the case when he was knocked out in 6 rounds by Nicholas Walters in 2014.

“I’m not gonna be a fool and go fight guys who are at 150 on the day of the fight when I’m 130. As much as I have that talent, bigger guys sometimes take away that talent,” said Donaire.

The victory over Bedak, coupled with his renewed mental outlook, has him confident he can avenge his 2013 defeat to Rigondeaux, which had stopped his momentum after being voted BWAA Fighter of the Year in 2012.

“It’s definitely different. You saw the speed, you saw the footwork, you saw the jab. I didn’t have those when we fought, I didn’t have strength when I fought him, all I had was a left hook, I didn’t even have an uppercut. That in itself is a big change,” said Donaire. – Rappler.com