Notes: Donaire defense to be added to Pacquiao card

Junior featherweight titlist Nonito Donaire of the Philippines will fight in one of four title fights on a night that includes a main event with Manny Pacquiao, putting the top two Filipino fighters in the world on the same card for the first time. Peter Amador/Top Rank

Dan Rafael
ESPN Senior Writer

A few notes from around the boxing world:

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told ESPN.com that the Manny Pacquiao-Jessie Vargas card would include four world title fights on the pay-per-view telecast — the main event, in which Pacquiao will challenge for Vargas’ welterweight title, and three others Arum declined to specify. One of those three other title fights in the works features junior featherweight titleholder Nonito Donaire (37-3, 24 KOs) in a mandatory defense against Jessie Magdaleno (23-0, 17 KOs).

“We were negotiating the deal [on Wednesday],” Cameron Dunkin, Donaire’s manager, told ESPN.com. “With Nonito, I’d like to get him big names and big fights, but that’s not possible right now, so he has to keep defending his title and do this mandatory. We’re real close and trying to settle on a few things. We’re going to try to get it wrapped up and be done in the next couple of days.”

The likely addition of Donaire, who will be making the second defense of his latest title reign, to a Pacquiao card will put the two biggest names in Filipino boxing on the same card together for the first time.

“This will be really fun,” Dunkin said. “I think it should have happened sooner, but it’s OK. I think the Filipino people will be really excited and happy for this. It’s terrific.”

Former lightweight title challenger Jose Zepeda (25-1, 21 KOs) of Long Beach, California, has withdrawn from a planned junior welterweight fight against Emanuel Taylor, which was on tap for Saturday in Phoenix, and has signed with Dunkin as his manager. While Zepeda remains under contract with Zanfer Promotions, Dunkin will serve in a management role.

“He contacted me and told me he didn’t want that fight,” Dunkin said. “He wants to campaign at lightweight. I think he can really fight. He’s real good friends with [Dunkin-managed welterweight titleholder] Jessie Vargas. He recommended him to me. We worked it out and I’m really excited about doing stuff with him.”
In July 2015, Zepeda faced Terry Flanagan in England for a vacant lightweight belt and lost by second-round knockout after dislocating his shoulder. Other than that fight, Zepeda, 27, has fought primarily as a junior welterweight since turning pro in 2009.

British super middleweight brothers Callum Smith (20-0, 15 KOs), the mandatory challenger for world titleholder Badou Jack, and Paul Smith (37-6, 21 KOs), who has fought for world titles twice, will both fight on the Gennady Golovkin-Kell Brook undercard on Sept. 10 at the O2 Arena in London, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn announced. Callum will defend his regional belt in a 12-rounder against Norbert Nemesapati (21-3, 16 KOs) of Hungary, and Paul will face an opponent to be determined in an eight-round bout.

“Callum Smith has one more hurdle before the mandatory against WBC champ Badou Jack is called on Sept. 13, and we are looking for him to make a statement on this huge platform,” Hearn said, although Jack likely will face James DeGale in a unification fight first this fall with the winner obligated to face Smith.