Does Donaire Deserve Another Title Crack?
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 19 Dec 2024
No country for old men.
Boxing has been very cruel to aging fighters except for a few who were given the chance to prove that age is just a number on the way to upsetting the odds and becoming world champions again.
Nonito Donaire would want to be given this chance once again as he personally asked the World Boxing Association's ratings committee for a top five ranking in the bantamweight division in order to pursue a fight against current titlist Seiya Tsusumi.
Tsusumi has earlier dethrone Takuma Inoue, Naoya's brother as WBA champion.
Absurd as his request may sound, Donaire could be more worthy of a title shot than most of the top five current contenders of the WBA who include three, yes three Japanese fighters and a Latino who has already been beaten in a past major fight at a lower weight.
With all four major world titles held by Japanese, is it possible that Japan has not been affected by any diffusion or dilution of talent that it still has three of the top five contender spots? I simply find that too hard to believe.
Though already 42, chances are Nonito could be better, talent and skills-wise and still have what it takes for a credible crack at the WBA bantamweight title than those aforementioned current top 5 contenders. Just as Hall of Fame bound Manny Pacquiao I believe is deserving of another shot at the world welterweight title against Mario Barrios.
The WBA reportedly is considering Donaire's request.
Note that it was the WBA that helped in resuscitating Donaire's career in 2018 by seeding him in the World Boxing Super Series at bantamweight after everybody else had stricken him off as over the hill following his title defeats at super bantamweight and featherweight the previous years.
The cavalier attitude towards aging erstwhile celebrated fighters brings to mind the case of Roberto Duran.
Calls were becoming too loud for Duran to retire in 1986 following a loss to Robbie Sims, Marvin Hagler's half brother that came at the heels of his latest back to back losses to Hagler and particularly to Tommy Hearns who knocked him out face first. Duran also had a heartbreaking back to back losses earlier to Wilfred Benitez and Kirkland Laing not too distant from his shameful No Mas TKO loss to Sugar Ray Leonard.
Had Duran heeded those calls, he would not have cemented his place as among the all time great fighters boxing has known by defeating a beast like Iran Barkley in 1989 for the WBC middleweight championship, his fourth in as many weight divisions.
Duran earlier carved his niche as the first fighter in the modern era to win the welterweight world title straight from lightweight by beating no less than Leonard himself. After losses to Leonard, Benitez and Laing, he would resuscitate his career by winning a third world title at Jr middleweight, stopping erstwhile undefeated Davey Moore.
Nonito Donaire deserves another shot at glory.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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