NONITO Donaire Jr., once touted to be the prince in the Philippine boxing kingdom ruled by eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao, should be stronger and more motivated now that he is returning to the lower weight class.
It is, indeed, the wise thing to do.
After suffering a devastating sixth-round knockout loss to the undefeated and now the new World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight champion Nicholas Walters in October last year at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, the “The Filipino Flash” is back in the lighter 122-pound super bantamweight division where he used to rule with iron fists.
The five-division world champion is training hard much ahead of his scheduled March 28 bout at the Mall of Asia Arena here in Manila against a still unnamed opponent who could most likely come from Mexico, the United States or Canada.
Now, more than ever, Donaire has to display his old ferocious form again in his return bout if he would want to make himself relevant again in the boxing ring.
Well it’s like this.
Questions and doubts about his future in the sport obviously abound after losing to the bigger and stronger Walters.
It was the first knockout that Donaire suffered in his celebrated career with his record now dropping to 33-3, with 21 knockouts.
It was only Donaire’s second loss in his last four fights after only losing once in his first 29 boxing matches. He had previously lost to Cuba’s Guillermo Rigondeaux in April 2014, but bounced back with victories over Vic Darchinyan and Simpiwe Vetyeka.
Donaire has already won titles in multiple divisions. Not counting his interim belt at junior bantamweight, the Filipino-American has won in four weight classes: flyweight; bantamweight; junior featherweight and featherweight. He even made it into the pound-for-pound lists.
However, that beating at the hands of the heavy-handed Jamaican punctuated by a looping right to just above the back of his ear in that fatal moment made Donaire open to talks of retirement after absorbing his second loss inside 18 months during that time.
Donaire said he was at his best and never trained harder for the fight. He came into the fight physically and mentally prepared, but he himself admitted that he simply cannot compete with guys like Walters who kept his unblemished record of 25-0, with 21 knockouts.
Donaire was right. He was clearly the smaller man and less superior.
Although he caught him with some good shots early in the fight, Donaire clearly was too big and too strong. Walters, called the “The Axe Man”, was able to handle Donaire’s power. Eventually he succumbed to Walters’ size, power, and his overwhelming aura inside that ring.
Clearly, the 126-pound featherweight division is too tough to handle for Donaire, so sliding down back to the lighter 122-pound super bantamweight class is the most logical option and wise thing to do. There he could be more competitive and could once again re-establish his image as a fighter to be feared.
Recall that in the 122-pound division, he had his finest moments and in fact he was even named Fighter of the Year in 2012, with four smashing victories including knockout wins over WBC super champion Toshiaki Nishioka of Japan and Jorge Arce of Mexico.
Now he is back in his virtual territory, but he can no longer afford to lose again.
At 32 years old, there is still a long way to go for Donaire. His return bout will somehow determine how big a step can he take in his bid to be the next Pacquiao.
