Continued reinvention did it for Donaire in latest title win

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

THIRTY-eight-year-old Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire is a world champion once again after reclaiming the World Boxing Council (WBC) bantamweight title on Sunday, which a local fight analyst credits to the boxer’s ability to reinvent himself throughout the years.

Filipino-American Donaire, who was born in Bohol, ascended to the WBC bantamweight division top perch after defeating erstwhile champion Nordine Oubaali of France by way of a fourth-round knockout in their title clash in Carson, California, at the weekend.

Mr. Donaire dominated the fight once he found his groove.

He dropped Mr. Oubaali twice to the canvas late in the third round with his vaunted left punch before finishing it off with a left uppercut in the fourth round to earn back the title he last held in 2011.

For fight analyst Nissi Icasiano, what The Filipino Flash showed in the Oubaali encounter was a testament to what Mr. Donaire has been doing throughout his career, allowing him to have a long career in boxing.

“Like I said in the past, reinvention is one of the key elements in the longevity of Nonito Donaire. It was evident in this fight. He employed a much different approach, a more patient and calculated one that helped him counteract the possible advances of his French foe and exhibited his experience in the ring,” said Mr. Icasiano in an interview with BusinessWorld.

“I just loved how he took his time and did not recklessly fight fire with fire. The old and much younger Nonito Donaire would certainly engage in that kind of exchange. But he knew he had strengths that he could utilize without extorting that much effort to put in check every possible offense in Oubaali’s arsenal… He changed levels in his attacks, targeting the body that opened the Frenchman’s defenses which allowed him to throw left hooks in the process. It’s a methodical performance to behold.”

The analyst went on to say that the fight ending in a knockout was not at all surprising, never mind if Mr. Donaire had an 18-month layoff prior to his latest fight.

“I knew from the get-go that Nonito Donaire had Oubaali’s number. So it was just a matter of time before he could formally wrap it up. I thought it was over in the third round after the second knockdown with one second remaining,” he said.

Following his title conquest, Mr. Donaire (41-6, 27 KOs) said “he was very happy” to position himself once again to vie for top-level competition, including a possible unification title fight against World Boxing Association/International Boxing Federation bantamweight champion Naiya Inoue of Japan.

Mr. Donaire lost the WBA super bantamweight title to Mr. Inoue in his previous fight in 2019 by unanimous decision but not after making the Japanese work hard and exposing his weaknesses.

A unification fight with Mr. Inoue is an attractive next option for Mr. Donaire but other options abound for the Filipino champion following his impressive performance, said Mr. Icasiano.

“I won’t be surprised if he gets a unification bout next. A possible fight against the winner of the Inoue-[Michael] Dasmariñas bout is in the books. The winner of the [Johnriel] Casimero- [Guillermo] Rigondeaux fight is also an option. There is also the [Reymart] Gaballo- [Emmanuel] Rodriguez rematch, and that’s for the interim WBC bantamweight title. So the winner of that fight gets a date with Nonito. Evidently, there is no shortage of options for Nonito Donaire.”