Donaire bout in Dubai faces ‘economic’ bumps

Promoters of Nonito Donaire’s title defense against Hussein Hussein in Dubai are facing “economic problems” but remain very hopeful that the fight would push through on April 18 at the Dubai Aviation Arena.

Noli Eala of Third Force Promotions yesterday said if the problems aren’t solved by March 31 they might be forced to consider a couple of options – move the fight to a later date or stage it in the Philippines.

Under the original deal, a Dubai group will finance the project while Third Force will stage it for them. It’s the first time a boxing championship will be held in Dubai, which has a large Filipino community.

“We’ve been dealing with this quietly, and everything has been above board. There’ve been some problems with the economic provisions with our Dubai partners. It’s unfortunate we are experiencing this,” said Eala.

The former PBA commissioner, however, said things are being worked out, and everybody concerned, from the fighters to their trainers, managers and promoters are being regularly informed of the developments.

The problems involve financial commitments, including the boxers’ purse, venue and accommodation for officials of the sanctioning body.

“And because of this we have to make adjustments like demanding more assurance money from the Dubai group to make sure it pushes through,” said Eala, without mentioning any figure.

Eala said he’s been in touch with Gary Shaw, the promoter of Donaire, the reigning IBF super-flyweight champion, and Tony Aldeguer who handles Donnie Nietes who is scheduled to defend his WBO minimumweight crown in the undercard.

“It’s quite unfortunate because Third Force has made big plans with this Dubai group. There are many more projects in store. And we’ve made our own advances,” said Eala.

“As far as we’re concerned, we are working very hard to push through with it. Maybe we can make some adjustments in the fight card. We’ve set a deadline. And if things are not met, then we cannot push through,” he added.

“We still want to do it right. But we at Third Force cannot expose ourselves financially. We hope that we get all the assurances from our Dubai partners on or before March 31.”

Donaire has been training hard, under his father, Nonito Sr., in the US as he looked forward to the second defense of the title he won over Vic Darchinyan last year.