The 30-year-old, who traded willingly with Darchinyan until stopping him late on, had hoped to get back in the ring in early 2014, although the injury means that it could be late spring before Donaire sees action again.
“It was a slight fracture of the orbital bone under Donaire’s left eye and it will probably keep him out until May,” Top Rank’s Carl Moretti told World Boxing News today, which would put an end to old foe Guillermo Rigondeaux’s offer of a rematch in March.
Four-weight title winner Donaire looked somewhat sluggish at certain stages of his return bout in Corpus Christi as he looked to put the April defeat to Rigondeaux, his first in thirteen years, firmly behind him.
The featherweight contender ultimately got the job done in the ninth round as his power shone through and after a period of recovery, ‘The Filipino Flash’ can look forward to a possible world title challenge at 126lbs late in 2014.
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