MANILA, Philippines - World Boxing Council bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire Jr. could lose his title for failing to defend it according to the sanctioning organization’s rules.
The WBC said it has already contacted Donaire twice to inform him that it has been four months and 13 days since he won the crown yet he hasn’t made single title defense.
“Our rules and regulations obligate all champions to make a title defense every four months, as six months without doing so represent the title vacant,” the Mexico-based sanctioning body said in a statement.
Donaire hasn’t fought since brutally knocking out Mexican Fernando Montiel in two rounds on Feb. 19. The fight was also for the WBO version of the crown.
The Filipino-American fighter has been embroiled in a contractual dispute with his promoter Top Rank Inc., claiming the Las Vegas-based promotional outfit has failed to give him three fights a year since 2008 as stipulated in his contract.
To make matters worse, Donaire then signed a four-year promotional deal with Top Rank’s rival Golden Boy Promotions. Top Rank eventually filed a breach of contract case against Golden Boy, and the case was put to arbitration.
US arbitrator Daniel Weinstein then ruled that Top Rank, not Golden Boy, has the rights to Donaire.
The WBC said it is still waiting for Donaire’s response regarding the matter.
“Considering the aforementioned facts, Nonito Donaire is being notified in time that he must comply with his obligations as a champion, and so far, we haven’t received a reply from the Philippine fighter,” it added.