By Ryan Maquiñana

In a Sunday interview with krikya360.com/CSNBayArea.com, Nonito Donaire revealed that he would undergo surgery on his right shoulder after his unanimous decision defeat to Guillermo Rigondeaux on Saturday night for the junior featherweight world championship.

“[The shoulder] hasn’t been feeling good for a while, so I’m going to get surgery on it, take some time off to be with Rachel and the baby, and then get back in the ring after that,” said Donaire, whose wife Rachel is pregnant with their first child, a boy they plan to name Jarel.

In his postfight interview with HBO’s Max Kellerman, Donaire (31-2, 20 KOs) indicated that he was going under the knife, but did not specify which shoulder would be treated until now.

Another pivotal moment in the fight was the emergence of a sizable welt under Donaire’s right eye in the 12th and final round.  From ringside, it appeared that a sharp left hand from Rigondeaux (12-0, 8 KOs) early in the frame was the culprit, but Donaire pondered whether the eye had already begun to swell before that.

“I definitely had trouble seeing out of my right eye,” Donaire said.  “I think I might have caught a thumb first, but those things happen.  That’s just part of a fight.  Give Rigondeaux credit.  He boxed well and did what he had to do to win.

“It’s hard to lead when you’re both counterpunchers.  I was headhunting, and I kind of fell in love with knocking him out because I wanted to give the fans that so bad.  I’m going to learn from this fight, go over it with my team, and I’m going to come back a better and stronger fighter.”

Ryan Maquiñana was the boxing producer for NBCOlympics.com during London 2012 and writes a weekly column for CSNBayArea.com.  He is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Ratings Panel for Ring Magazine. E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com , check out his blog at Norcalboxing.net, or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.