Additionally, the fact that even young boxers are avoiding him indicates that he is still seen as a formidable opponent.
That's because Donaire doesn't struggle yet against any other boxers at 118 since fighting Naoya Inoue. Just for a recap, after suffering the defeat at the hands of Naoya Inoue on their first meetup, Donaire bounces back on his next couple of fights with an impressive 4th Round Knock Out at both, winning a championship belt and successfully defending it, respectively.
If Donaire won't be able to win against a boxer that's not even on the Top 5 rankings, it's time now to consider hanging his gloves. Not just because he can't able to cope now with the competition but losing this fight will also put him below rankings. If he continues to fight after losing, then maybe just for satisfaction only and extra money before retiring.
But before anything else, I don't think that Donaire will show struggling against Santiago. However, my concern is, the longer this fight is not materializing for real, the longer Donaire will remain inactive in the ring. Next month will mark his 1-year inactivity in the ring
(June 7, 2002).It's a shame that until now we are yet to hear an announcement about the date and venue of this fight. Luckily, corrupt WBC seems to respect Donaire a lot or maybe because the legend is the biggest name in the division right now which means bigger purse and bigger sanctioning fees.
In a perfect world, the WBC will give a deadline for both camps to agree on a deal otherwise a purse bid should happen. And if Donaire is not willing to commit due to his promoter Richard Schaefer then the Thailander which was supposed to be the real opponent of Donaire should be the one to face Santiago. The Thai had a schedule last February prompting the WBC to skip him temporarily. But it seems like he is more ready for a fight in June than Donaire. And I wonder why Donaire and his team are not giving updates. Maybe to cover up his promoter's issue with the US authorities or who knows it's not just in the US but in many parts of the world that are allied with the US.
Donaire already has a limited time left in his career and then here's another obstacle. Aside from him being inactive already for a year. He should speak and tell Schaefer to let the other promotions do the job temporarily.