The ongoing saga between Nonito Donaire and Abner Mares, and more importantly, between their respective promoters Top Rank and Golden Boy, got more interesting on Monday night. Abner Mares released a statement on both Twitter and Facebook, saying that Donaire’s team turned down the $3 million offer to make the fight. The offer, which was previously refuted as being in existence, has since been confirmed by Bob Arum.
This is what Mares had to say via his Twitter account:
“To my fans; Unfortunately Nonito Donaire has turn down the fight against myself. I just want to thank my promoter @GoldenBoyBoxing & my manager @Espinozaboxing for their attempts to try and make a fight that the fans really wanted to see. Team Mares will soon announce my next fight. Stay tuned. #Teammares#Fanscomefirst”
Of course, this could just be construed as more unconfirmed talk from one side of the equation. However, Steve Kim then shared this tidbit:
“Tonight I have an update on the Donaire-Mares saga, both Arum and CDunkin say that Golden Boy did send over an offer-contract
#BOXING“
The contract was previously discussed in detail by Dan Rafael on ESPN.com. Basically, according to Richard Schaefer, Donaire’s side was getting $3 million, the fight would likely be televised on Showtime, and Top Rank and Bob Arum could basically determine the rest of the details, including the exact date and venue, as long as it was before June 30.
Surely, in the coming days, we’ll hear something from Arum — and we’ll hear how the offer was somehow bogus, it was never real, or they weren’t getting enough money, or there were other strange demands.
But right now, the main points here are clear: Golden Boy did indeed offer Top Rank $3 million to make the fight, and they turned it down. Unless something changes, Donaire vs. Mares is another mega-fight currently being flushed down the drain.
