UniMas headliner Nonito Donaire (34-3, 22 KO) looks for a second straight win in the super bantamweight division, to which he returned following a featherweight beatdown at the hands of Nicholas Walters last October. In his last three bouts, Settoul defeated Faysal Messauodene (W5-L19-D1) by UD8; lost to Omar Lamiri (W11-L1-D0) by MD12 and before facing Donaire defeated Ignac Kassai (W14-L35-D2) by TKO1 in a six rounder.
An impressive win against Settoul (20-3, 8 KOs) and a proper defense from Quigg would bring the Filipino Flash to the brink of fighting for a major championship belt again.
WBA ?regular? super bantamweight champion Scott Quigg and potential challenger Nonito Donaire both registered second round knockouts on Saturday to pave the way for a possible matchup.
Unlike in the past when he threw caution to the winds and went after his opponent looking for a knockout, this time around, Donaire stuck to the game-plan his father/trainer worked out during training at the ALA Gym in Cebu, where he also benefited with some excellent sparring against promising prospects Mark Magsayo and Prince Albert Pagara, two undefeated fighters on the crest of worldwide recognition. That includes IBF champion Carl Frampton, who fights Alejandro Gonzalez Jr. on Saturday as well.
?Thank you for all your support guys, for your love to your fellow Filipino?, said the 32-year-old Fighter of the Year in 2012 who is on the comeback trail after suffering a devastating sixth-round knockout at the hands of Walters at SubHub Center in Carson, California.
?Hopefully a title shot?, said Donaire, a four-division world champion.
?I think this is much easier for him, because Quigg is just moving forward, and [Donaire Jr] is much stronger than Quigg?, said Donaire Sr.
Top Rank is back in Macau today, with Nonito Donaire, Jose Ramirez, Ik Yang, Denis Shafikov, and more in action.
Even Quigg?s trainer, Joe Gallagher, sounded like they want Donaire next.
It was great to see that Nonito regained his confidence after two easy fights in a row, but will Donaire finally dare to step up the level of competition or will he keep on hand picking is something that we will find out sooner than later.
The proposed Donaire-Quigg fight could take place later this year and at stake would be Quigg?s WBA title.
