Poonsawat books title fight on Donaire card: report

“Filipino Flash” Nonito Donaire, pictured in 2011, will defend his super bantamweight crown against Mexico’s Jorge Arce next month and Thailand’s Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym reportedly will fight for a rival title.

HOUSTON, Texas - “Filipino Flash” Nonito Donaire will defend his super bantamweight crown against Mexico’s Jorge Arce next month and Thailand’s Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym reportedly will fight for a rival title.

Donaire, who is 10 days shy of his 30th birthday, will make his third defense of the World Boxing Organization belt he won earlier this year on December 15 at Houston in the home arena of the NBA‘s Houston Rockets.

And Poonsawat will challenge 32-year-old unbeaten Cuban southpaw Guillermo Rigondeaux for the World Boxing Association version of the same weight division crown in a deal signed Tuesday, promoters told ESPN.

Donaire, 30-1 with 19 knockouts, beat South African Jeffrey Mathebula last July and Japan’s Toshiaki Nishioka last month after taking the title with a split decision last February over Puerto Rico’s Wilfredo Vazquez.

Arce, 33, is 61-6 with two drawn and 46 knockouts. He has nine wins and a draw since last being beaten by South African Simphiwe Nongqayi in 2009 — a defeat Arce avenged last year.

Two-time Olympic champion Rigondeaux, 11-0 with eight knockouts, will also make his third defense of a crown won this year.

Rigondeaux, who has been pushing for a unification bout with Donaire, beat Americans Teon Kennedy and Robert Marroquin in prior title defenses this year.

Poonsawat, who held the WBA crown for most of 2010, is 48-2 with 33 knockouts. He has won seven fights in a row since losing the WBA crown in October of 2010 to Japan’s Ryol Li Lee by unanimous decision.