Philippines, 16 Sep 2025
  Home >> News

 


BOXERS

CURRENT CHAMPIONS 

FORMER CHAMPIONS   

RATINGS                       

NEWS           

FORUM        

FIGHT GALLERIES        

RING CARD GIRLS        


 
 
News  


Donaire fights Burnett in World Boxing Series inaugurals


PhilBoxing.com




Filipino four-division world champion Nonito Donaire will be facing No. 1 seed and world titleholder Ryan Burnett in the bantamweight division side of the coming World Boxing Series.

The undefeated Burnett, 26, of Northern Ireland (10-0 with 9 KOs), chose Donaire (38-5 with 24 KOs) as his quarterfinal opponent in the 118-pound level of the tournament that also include the welterweight category.

The seedings were handed out Friday during the draft gala that took place on the eve of the cruiserweight encounter between Oleksander Usyk and Murat Gassiev for the undisputed world title at the Rossiya Theater in Moscow.

All 16 competitors were in attendance in the event, including Regis Prograis, who earned the top seeding in the 140-pound tournament division side of the series, ESPN?s senior writer Dan Rafael reported.

"He (Donaire) has been an amazing champion and he is a great fighter. I believe Nonito can bring out the best in me," said Burnett, who will be defending his belt for the second time in he series.

"I know that Ryan's got what it takes, so I am going to be at my best," Donaire, who will be moving down two weight classes to a division he once dominated but has not fought since 2011, said.

Secondary world titlist Naoya Inoue (16-0, 14 KOs), 25, of Japan, who is a three-division titleholder, as No. 2 seed, elected to face former titlist Juan Carlos Payano (20-1, 9 KOs), 34, a southpaw from the Dominican Republic.

Payano has won three fights in a row since losing his world title in to Rau'shee Warren in June 2016.

World titleholder Zolani Tete (27-3, 21 KOs), a 30-year-old southpaw from South Africa, will make his third defense against Russian prospect Mikhail Aloyan (4-0, 4 KOs), a 29-year-old southpaw.

Emmanuel Rodriguez (18-0, 12 KOs), 25, of Puerto Rico, anther world champ was given the No. 4 seed and will make his first defense against mandatory challenger Jason Moloney (17-0, 14 KOs), 27, of Australia.

Prograis (22-0, 19 KOs), 29, a southpaw who fights out of Houston, picked former lightweight titlist Terry Flanagan as his opening-round opponent in a tournament where two world titles will be at stake.

Also to be awarded is the Muhammad Ali Trophy which awaits the most outstanding performer in the tournament which begins in the fall.

"We are fighting for the Ali trophy, and Ali is a legend. He fought the best of the best, and I want to fight the best of the best," Prograis said. "Flanagan is a former world champion, and that's why I made this decision."

Flanagan (33-1, 13 KOs), a 29-year-old southpaw from England, is fighting for his only second outing as a junior welterweight and is coming off a June 9 decision loss to Maurice Hooker for a vacant world title.

Second seed Josh Taylor (13-0, 11 KOs), 27, of Scotland, meets Ryan Martin (22-0, 12 KOs), 25, of Cleveland.

World titleholder Kiryl Relikh (22-2, 19 KOs), 28, of Belarus, the No. 3 seed, makes his first mandatory defense against former titlist Eduard Troyanovsky (27-1, 24 KOs), 38, of Russia.

No. 4 Ivan Baranchyk (18-0, 11 KOs), 25, also of Russia, will face Anthony Yigit (21-0-1, 7 KOs), 26, of Sweden, for a vacant world title.

There will be a third tournament in a division to be announced in the WBS second season. All three tournaments will air on the new DAZN all-sports streaming service, which is scheduled to launch in the United States on Sept. 10.

Photo: Nonito Donaire Jr (R) with his wife Rachel and Ryan Burnett (L) with his partner in Moscow.


Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.


Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:

  • Smarts over power
    By Joaquin Henson, , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • HALL OF FAME FLIES FLAGS AT HALF-STAFF FOR TWO-DIVISION CHAMPION RICKY HATTON
    , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • Kazakhstan tops the medal table at the inaugural World Boxing Championships 2025 thanks to victory in the final bout of the competition
    , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • THRILLA IN MANILA GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 13: JOE FRAZIER’S HUMBLE BEGINNINGS AS AN AMATEUR FIGHTER
    By Maloney L. Samaco, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • A New King, A New Challenger: Turki Alalshikh Proposes Crawford-Benavidez While Canelo Alvarez Faces Defeat with Humility
    By Dong Secuya, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Highly Questionable Title Eliminator
    By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Yoseline Perez Earns Silver Medal at Inaugural World Boxing Championships
    , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • 21-year-old Filipino wins at Germany rapid chess tournament
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Nagoya Nightmare: Naoya Inoue Notches One-Sided Decision over Murodjon Akhmadaliev
    , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Inoue’s Philippine Connection: Which Pinoy Super Bantamweight Could Challenge “The Monster?”
    By Carlos Costa, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Yoseline Perez Advances to the Finals at the World Boxing Championships Perez Set to Face Chinese Taipei’s Hsiao-Wen Huang for 54-Kilogram World Title
    , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Canelo Gets Outboxed, Loses Undisputed Title to Crawford
    By Carlos Costa, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • A Masterpiece of Boxing: Terence Crawford Dethrones Canelo Alvarez in Historic Showdown
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • LEWIS CROCKER IS CROWNED THE NEW IBF WORLD WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION
    , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Battle of Undefeated: Callum Walsh Vanquishes Fernando Vargas Jr.
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Undercard Inferno: Mbilli and Martinez Deliver a Super Middleweight War Ending in a Thrilling Draw
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Crawford to defy odds?
    By Joaquin Henson, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Clash of Titans: The Final Predictions for Canelo Álvarez vs. Terence Crawford
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Weigh-In Results: Naoya Inoue vs. Murodjon Akhmadaliev
    , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Inoue and Akhmadaliev Make Weight for Sunday's Battle, Watch it LIVE on Facebook!
    By Carlos Costa, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • IIEE North Cotabato and Metro Central are the Golden Champion on 3x3 Basketball and 3x3 Chess
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Sydney Sy Tancontian is Female Awardee of Sports Hero of the Year
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Sat, 13 Sep 2025
  • Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford: Size Matters
    By Chris Carlson, , Sat, 13 Sep 2025
  • BOOTS TALKS SPARRING WITH CANELO IN ‘DAY IN THE LIFE’
    , Sat, 13 Sep 2025
  • WEIGHTS FROM LAS VEGAS: CANELO - 167.5 LBS., CRAWFORD - 167.5 LBS.
    By Dong Secuya, , Sat, 13 Sep 2025




  •  



     
    PhilBoxing.com has been created to support every aspiring
    Filipino boxer and the Philippine boxing scene in general.
    Please send comments to feedback@philboxing.com


    PRIVATE POLICY | LEGAL DISCLAIMER
    developed and maintained by dong secuya
    © 2025 philboxing.com.