Nonito "Filipino Flash" Donaire (23-1, 15 KO) rose to stardom with his check-hook knockout of Vic "Raging Bull" Darchinyan (34-2-1, 27 KO) in July 2007. Darchinyan refused to credit Donaire for his win, instead attributing the knockdown to bad balance and demanding an immediate rematch. The rematch should have been easy to make, as both men fought under Gary Shaw's promotional banner.  It's not for me to decide if Darchinyan was absolutely deserving of an immediate rematch, but it would have been nice to see. But as we see far too often in boxing, politics often keep fighters from sharing the ring.

Regardless of Darchinyan's feelings on the knockout, that loss sent him falling from the pound-for-pound rankings and allowed Donaire to creep into some people's top 10. After he left Shaw for the grander pastures at Bob Arum's Top Rank Promotions, the possibility of ever seeing Donaire and Darchinyan share the ring again weakened as time passed. 

Darchinyan moved up in weight and went on to fight to a draw with Z Gorres. He then blasted out Dmitry Kirillov in five rounds before dominating Christian Mijares in a bout for super flyweight supremacy and three of the four major alphabet titles (IBF, WBC, WBA). Meanwhile, Donaire defended his flyweight titles twice against less than stellar opposition. His last defense against Raul Martinez proved to be his best, as he scored a TKO victory in four rounds.

After Darchinyan's win over Jorge Arce was spoiled by his decision loss to Joseph Agbeko, he needed another convincing win to get back on Donaire's radar. He got that knockout win over Tomas Rojas last December. Donaire then beat Rafael Concepcion for the Interim WBA super flyweight title. A unification bout with Darchinyan seemed inevitable. Nothing in boxing is ever certain, however.

Donaire's trouble making the 115-pound weight limit has thrown another rusted monkey wrench into Darchinyan's master plan to avenge his first professional loss. Donaire has made public his plan to move up to the bantamweight division and challenge the winner between Fernando Montiel and Hozumi Hasegawa.

After Darchinyan's unanimous decision win over the young, outgunned Rodrigo Guerrero, he continued to call out Donaire.  Darchinyan went so far as to claim Donaire is scared to fight him, "He's [Donaire] scared.  Here are two belts. If you already knocked him out, why not come get these two belts?" When asked about his plans if Donaire declines to fight him, Darchinyan stated, "If I don't fight Donaire next, then this might be my last fight at 115."

Donaire laughed off Darchinyan's challenge, claiming the brash Armenian is only talking and not bringing any serious offers to the table. While immediate plans for a second fight between Donaire and Darchinyan may have fizzled out, the fight may become a reality later, rather than sooner.  Donaire has planned to move up in weight and Darchinyan will surely be right behind him.  If Donaire and Darchinyan are both successful in acquiring bantamweight titles, a rematch will seem that more attractive. It may not happen in the super flyweight division, but it will happen eventually.