Former four division champion Nonito Donaire had successful surgery on his right shoulder that followed his unanimous decision defeat to Guillermo Rigondeaux on April 13th according to Dan Rafael of espn.com
“It’s just tender, totally tender,” Donaire told ESPN.com on Tuesday. “I’m trying to stretch it and I’m in physical therapy, trying to get it stretched out and get the shoulder back to normal.
“They fixed it up and when they were doing it they found the bone spur and bone basically floating in the middle of my joint that they vacuumed out,” he said. “The doctor did an amazing job. I’m already moving my arm. They expect me to be in a sling, but I don’t like being confined. They said the procedure went well and that if I can bear the pain, I could move it around and stretch, just not anything too strenuous. So I’m not wearing a sling and I’m stretching it out, but it feels like somebody is constantly punching me in the arm.”
“I’ve always felt the pain for quite a while,” he said. “The right shoulder was bothering me bad. I went to the doctor in January and the doctor was freaking me out saying he thought it was a full tear. But I wanted to fight. In the back of my head I thought it could be a career-ender, but I wanted to fight and all during training camp I didn’t use my right. I thought I would be able to do good with setting everything up with the left. Going into a fight with an elite fighter not at 100 percent is a big mistake and that is something I learned. You can’t take anyone lightly.”
“I have to get the left one fixed also,” Donaire said. “Every time I move at a different angle, the tendon is rubbing against the bone, so once my right shoulder heals I will go back and get the left one done, and I will come back stronger.
“I learned in that fight [with Rigondeaux], it’s a learning experience to make me stronger when I come back.”
When he does return, probably in the fall, Donaire, whose wife is expecting their first child, a son, in July, said he likely will move up one division to featherweight.
“I think 122 is kind of too small for me at this point, but with proper weight management I could make it happen, but only if I could get a rematch [with Rigondeaux],” Donaire said.
But he also acknowledged that Top Rank, his promoter, could offer him a fight with Mexico’s Victor Terrazas, who claimed a vacant junior featherweight title via split decision against countryman Cristian Mijares on Saturday night in Mexico City.
“If Top Rank is giving me Terrazas, I guess maybe,” Donaire said. “I feel I would be more comfortable and stronger at 126. I just want to fight the best out there.”
