Donaire and Rios double-header set for June 30th!

Nonito Donaire                                                   Brandon Rios

WBO super-bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire will now be fighting on June 30th against IBF champion Jeffry Mathebula at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Former WBA lightweight champion Brandon Rios will also be on the card against an opponent that has not yet been confirmed.

Donaire (28-1, 18 KO's) was originally set to fight against Cristian Mijares on July 14th on the same card as Juan Manuel Marquez but it looks very likely that the show will no longer be taking place. The pound-for-pound contender won the super-bantamweight title against Wilfredo Vazquez Jr back in February of last year. It was a tough fight for Donaire but it enabled him to show off his class and superior boxing skills.

Rios was very lucky to get the decision against Abril.

Rios (30-0-1) disappointed a lot of people in his last fight and as a result has lost a lot of value in the boxing world. He was easily out-boxed over 12 rounds against Cuban lightweight Richard Abril but shockingly he was announced as the winner by majority decision. There was no way you could even argue that Rios even came close to winning the fight and many people protested against the decision. Rios was lined up for a July 14th showdown with Marquez but after his poor performance it would be foolish even to put him in the ring with Marquez.

Donaire's opponent Jeffry Mathebula (26-3-2, 14 KO's) is a big step down in class and it is a bit of a surprise that Bob Arum did not try and match him with a more known opponent. Many people think that Arum is just trying to prolong Donaire's run as champion for as long as possible and make as much money out of him as possible until he is forced to face one of the more dangerous fighters in the division.

This fight will most likely be 'Bam Bam' Rios' first fight at light-welterweight as it has been clear in his last two fights that he just simply cannot make the weight for the lightweight division anymore.

The Donaire-Mathebula fight will headline the show and Rios' fight will be chief support. Overall, it's another good show to look forward to in the next few months.