MP Promotions President denies rumors of Team Donaire offering Jade Bornea a step aside fee

MP Promotions President Sean Gibbons dismissed rumors that Team Donaire had reached out to Jade Bornea to offer a step aside fee to have Nonito Donaire Jr. fight Fernando Martinez for the IBF world super flyweight title.

Bornea, who is represented by Gibbons, is the number one contender for Martinez’s 115-pound world title. A mandatory order has already been handed down by the IBF and his handlers are looking to make the world title fight happen in the first quarter of 2023.

“That is not true,” Gibbons told GMA Integrated News when asked for a comment on the rumors that Team Donaire reached out to Team Bornea to negotiate a step aside deal.

“Even if that was the case, we are not stepping aside regardless of the money offered.”

The 40-year-old Donaire is looking to add to his already Hall of Fame-worthy legacy by moving back down to 115 pounds, where he could potentially win a title to become a five-division world champion.

Donaire, 42-7 with 28 knockouts as a prizefighter, also issued a challenge to The RING and WBC world super flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada last month on Instagram.

Hailed as one the greatest Filipino boxers of all time, Donaire lost his WBC world bantamweight title to Japanese pound-for-pound superstar Naoya Inoue by way of second-round technical knockout last June in Saitama, Japan.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News