SPORTS SHORTS 142: NONITO DONAIRE IS BACK ON TOP OF THE WORLD, ANNIHILATES NORDINE OUBAALI AND BECOMES THE OLDEST WORLD BANTAMWEIGHT CHAMPION
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 30 May 2021
Nonito Donaire is back on top of the world again in his legendary career, when he stopped Nordine Oubaali in the fourth round to win the WBC world bantamweight title, becoming at 38 the oldest world bantamweight champion in boxing history.
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Donaire (41-6, 27 KOs) was studying Oubaali's strength and moves in the first round, with Oubaali (17-1, 12 KOs) throwing lots of punches, fighting with energy. But Donaire stayed calm and countered Oubaali's shots.
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In the second round Donaire landed his counter right hand, which is now his stronger weapon. Oubaali is not connecting so much, but Nonito is beginning to heat up in his counterpunches.
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Then it was in the third round that Nonito found a target in Oubaali with his vaunted left hook which sent the Frenchman to the floor for the first time in his career, 45 seconds remaining in the third. Oubaali managed to beat the count and even shook the Filipino with a left straight.
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Another knockdown with a left hook came very late in the third round. Referee Jack Reiss counted it as a second knockdown, and gave Oubaali a chance to recover. Oubaali, still wobbly when he got up, was saved by the bell after the mandatory eight count.
* * *
Oubaali started the fourth round solidly. But then halfway in the stanza, Donaire hit Oubaali again with a hook-straight-uppercut combination punctuated by a strong left and downed the French fighter for the third time with the referee waving off the fight. The official time was 1:52 in the fourth round.
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It was a flash of a knockout as "The Filipino Flash" Donaire showed the boxing world why he is still one of the greats.
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"The king has returned," Donaire proclaimed after the win as he now becomes the oldest fighter to win a world bantamweight title at 38 years old.
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He broke the record of fellow Filipino legend Gerry Peñalosa who won the WBO bantamweight title in his 60th fight with a 7th round knockout against Jhonny Gonzalez in August 11, 2007 in Sacramento, California, when he was 35 years old as several scribes had it.
* * *
Wikipedia listed Gerry Penalosa's birthdate on August 7, 1972 (now age 48) in San Carlos City,
Negros Occidental, Philippines. BoxRec did not indicate his date of birth. So Gerry, based on Wikipedia, at that time was 35 years and 4 days when he won the WBO belt.
* * *
Donaire managed to break his own record as the oldest fighter in history to win a bantamweight the title at age 38, as written by Jake Donovan of Boxing Scene.
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Donaire set the record at the start of the World Boxing Super Series bantamweight tournament, ending Ryan Burnett’s reign in November 3, 2018 at The SSE Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland, just 13 days shy of his 36th birthday. Donaire was born on November 16, 1982 in Talibon, Bohol, Philippines.
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Whatever record was broken, Donaire is currently the oldest champion in the now very deadly bantamweight division. Johnriel Casimero is the WBO bantamweight champion and will face two-time Olympic champion Guillermo Rigondeaux on August 14.
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His goal now is to achieve what he has yet to accomplish in his amazing career, that is to become undisputed champion at his most comfortable weight.
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He sets his sights in a rematch with WBA/IBF champion Naoya Inoue. The two battled in November 7, 2019 in Saitama, Japan with Inoue winning a 12-round decision but suffered a broken orbital bone in the 2019 Fight of the Year.
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"The human body is an incredible machine if you take care of it and we can only be as strong as our mind can be," Donaire said when questioned about ring rust going into this fight following an 18-month layoff after the Inoue fight.
.
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“I believe that it matters not what your age is, it matters how you are mentally, how strong you are mentally,” Donaire said. “What I learned from (a 2019 loss to Naoya) Inoue is I’m back. I knew I could compete with him, and I was not fighting, I was learning. I’m ready for the next one!”
* * *
Donaire really wants a rematch with Inoue. "That’s what I wanted to win this fight, because that’s my next goal,” he said. “The only thing I haven’t done in boxing is become undisputed, and the next phase is getting the rematch.”
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Several boxing personalities were impressed by Donaire's amazing victory, as he remains one of the most genuinely respected, well-liked fighters in the boxing profession.
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Timothy Bradley tweeted: "Amazing performance by a living legend @filipinoflash @ 38 years old he is now a 4 division world champion. Congratulations champ!"
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Andre Ward also posted: " My brother @filipinoflash did it again ! Congrats Champion"
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Donaire was dominating the fight by landing 74 of 183 total punches (40%), including 68 of 134 power punches (51%).
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Oubaali was 33 of 144 (23%) in total punches, landing just 18 of 89 power shots (20%) in his first career loss.
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Donaire now begins a third title reign, while claiming a major title in a third decade. The ageless wonder won his first title nearly 14 years ago after dethroning the seemingly invincible flyweight king Vic Darchinyan.
* * *
Then followed by title triumphs at bantamweight, junior featherweight and featherweight divisions, capped by the award as the 2012 Fighter of the Year.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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