By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Right after demolishing French champion Nordine Oubaali, Nonito “The Filipino Flash’ Donaire knew who he would challenge next.
Minutes after his impressive knockout victory to snatch the WBC bantamweight belt once again, Donaire called out a familiar name in the division.
“What I learned from Inoue is that 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!” said Donaire in his post-fight interview.
The veteran boxer is asking for a rematch after Japanese bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue took down Donaire in a classic 12-round fight last November 7, 2019.
Tagged as “2019’s fight of the year,” Donaire and Inoue engaged in one of the fieriest championship slugfests in the history of boxing.
However, Inoue got the better of Donaire during their clash and is the current WBA, IBF, and Ring Magazine bantamweight champion.
The heartbreaking loss for Donaire was scored 117-109, 116-111, 114-113 in favor of Inoue but is hoping to turn things around once their rematch takes place.
“That’s why I wanted to win this fight, because that’s my next goal. The only thing I haven’t done in boxing is to become undisputed, and the next phase is getting the rematch,” Donaire added.
