Donaire wants random testing for Rigondeaux

MANILA, Philippines - It’s no ultimatum but Nonito Donaire Jr. said if he ever gets to fight Guillermo Rigondeaux he would want the Cuban defector to undergo random drug-testing.

Donaire is the only boxing champion today to submit himself to random testing of his blood or urine all year round. Now it seems that he wants the others to follow.

Well at least his future opponents.

“Random is good, so we can help clean boxing’s reputation,” Donaire, already being hailed the best fighter for 2012, told The Examiner in a recent interview.

Donaire is not out finger-pointing but is just making sure that whoever he fights next is also clean. This should leave no air of doubt regardless of what happens.

It has been reported that Angel Hernandez, the controversial strength and conditioning expert, is now on Rigondeaux’s side.

Hernandez, who once admitted providing illegal performance-enhancers to track stars Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery, was with Juan Manuel Marquez all throughout as the Mexican trained for his fight with Manny Pacquiao.

Marquez raised a lot of eyebrows with his brand-new physique, and went on to stun the world with a bone-crunching knockout of Pacquiao last Dec. 8 at the MGM Grand. 

Marquez said he’s drug-free and everything was the result of four months of training under Hernandez. Both Marquez and Pacquiao passed the urine tests administered after the fight but never went through any tests before the fight.

Donaire wants the tests done before and after the fight.

The 30-year-old Filipino is the reigning WBO super-bantamweight champion while Rigondeaux, who won two Olympic gold medals for Cuba before defecting to the United States, is the holder of the WBA belt.

Another fighter Donaire is looking at as his possible opponent in April perhaps is WBC super-bantamweight king Abner Mares.

“If they want to request me to fight them, then I have a request for them to fight fair. It’s an even trade,” Donaire told The Examiner.

Donaire fought four times last year and won all his fights, starting off with Wilfredo Vasquez Jr., Jeffrey Mathebula, Toshiaki Nishioka and Jorge Arce last Dec. 15.

Already he is being hailed as the best fighter of 2012, with similar recognition coming from ESPN, Ring Magazine and Sports Illustrated.

Donaire is a cinch for the Fighter of the Year award being handed out by the Boxing Writers Association of America.

And he’s clean as a whistle.