In May last year, there was a preliminary talk on a possible Donaire-Ruiz fight which was originally scheduled for a purse bid but the talks failed to materialize.
Frampton was recently stripped of his WBA super bantamweight title for not facing Guillermo Rigondeaux in a title match and is now set to face Santa Cruz on July 30 at the Barclays Center in New York.
Donaire has been eyeing Frampton’s titles even before the Irish fighter fought Scott Quigg in a title fight which Frampton won last February 27.
After knocking out Hungarian challenger Zsolt Bedak Saturday night, Donaire said he wants either Frampton or Guillermo Rigondeaux for his next fight.
“I’ve been asked this million times before but I’ll say (I want to face) the best out there,” Donaire said after the fight. “If it’s Frampton, if it’s Rigondeaux, if it’s (Hugo) Ruiz, if it’s anybody that feels that they are better than me, come inside the ring, I’m waiting for you,” Donaire said.
In a press briefing at the ABS-CBN Executive lounge before the Bedak fight, Donaire told Digital Journal that he prefers a challenger with a title. In the 122-pound limit, there are three titleholders which include Frampton, Rigondeaux and Hugo Ruiz.
Donaire’s promoter Bob Arum isn’t showing interest in a Rigondeaux match believing that it won’t be a financially viable fight for Top Rank owing to his previous experience with the Cuban fighter, whose fighting style did not please the fans. For the veteran promoter, a Rigondeaux fight is hard to sell.
While Donaire has expressed his intention to face Rigondeaux for the second time, primarily to avenge his loss and for the title, he may not be in the same page with Arum at this time.
With Frampton and Rigodeaux out for now, Donaire has named Mexican fighter Hugo Ruiz, who is the current WBC super bantamweight champion.
Ruiz is being promoted by Promociones del Pueblo and Sampson Lewkowicz of Sampson Boxing and there seems to be no conflict between these promoters and Arum’s Top Rank Promotions.
Still, Arum may find it more financially rewarding and easier to arrange if he can tap a 122-pound contender in his current stable of fighters.
One of the possible challenger in the 122-pound limit in his stable is Jessie Magdaleno, who is ranked WBO #1, WBA #4, IBF #5, WBC #10 in the122 pounds limit.
Magdaleno, who has an impressive knockout record of 74 percent, is unbeaten in 23 outings since turning pro in 2010.
While Donaire would prefer a title fight for his next outing, it is highly probable that Arum will prevail on the choice of his next opponent and Jessie Magdaleno could be in his shortlist.
