Rigondeaux signs to fight Donaire

The attorney for Gary Hyde, manager of WBA junior featherweight beltholder Guillermo Rigondeaux, has informed RingTV.com that the two-time Olympic gold medalist has signed his contract to face RING 122-pound champion Nonito Donaire on April 13 on HBO.

Hyde's attorney, Pat English, said Rigondeaux (11-0, 8 knockouts) "signed within the hour" to face Donaire (30-1, 21 KOs), both of whom are promoted by Top Rank CEO Bob Arum.

"[English] has called me to say that it has happened and that he had forwarded it to my office," said Arum, who was at lunch and had not yet seen the documents. "I believe him, because he's a responsible guy."

Arum indicated that he expects for Donaire's part of the agreement to be finalized soon.

"Everything is in the process of happening," said Arum. "When it happens, it will happen, and then, we'll announce the signing and the site."

Donaire is coming off December's sensational third-round knockout of Mexican former four-division titleholder Jorge Arce, which resurrected the hopes of his Filipino countrymen as it came a week after Philippines national hero Manny Pacquiao was left lying face-first and motionless in a sixth-round knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez.

Donaire made his 122-pound debut with last February's split decision over ex-beltholder Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., and followed that up with a unanimous decision over South Africa's Jeffrey Mathebula for the IBF title in July.

In October of last year, Donaire's ninth-round stoppage of Toshiaki Nishioka, handing the legendary Japanese fighter his first loss since March of 2004 -- a span of eight years and seven months.

Rigondeaux was scheduled to face Thailand's Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym on the Donaire-Arce undercard at The Toyota Center in Houston before his rival's licence was not allowed due to his failed medical exam, according to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

Photo by Chris Farina-Top Rank

Lem Satterfield can be reached at lemuel.satterfield@gmail.com