It has been reported that former multi-weight world champion Nonito Donaire (38-5-0, 24 KO’s) is in discussions with his promoter Richard Schaefer of Ringstar Sports over a possible return to the currently-stacked bantamweight division.
Schaefer was one of the driving forces behind the World Boxing Super Series which recently announced that bantamweight would feature as one of the weight classes in the tournament’s second season. A stellar line-up is already taking shape; confirmed participants include titleholders Ryan Burnett, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Zolani Tete and, most recently, Naoya Inoue.
Inoue, nicknamed ‘The Monster’ due to his ferocious in-ring fighting style, announced his arrival at 118 pounds with a frightening first round destruction of long-time WBA titleholder Jamie McDonnell at the weekend. Entering the WBSS as a heavy favourite, Inoue has already set his sights on adding Donaire’s name to his resume should he return to the division.
ドネアがバンタム級に戻って来る！！！熱いねぇ、、これがどうゆう意味合いか🔥
— 井上尚弥 Naoya Inoue (@naoyainoue_410) May 29, 2018
“Donaire comes back to bantamweight!!! It’s hot, what’s the meaning of this? ?”
One can only hope that the reports have been greatly exaggerated, as any return to bantamweight would spell almost-certain disaster for Donaire who has not fought at the weight since 2011.
Although the ‘Filipino Flash’ is clearly undersized at the featherweight limit at which he last fought – a unanimous decision loss to Carl Frampton in Belfast last month – and does not possess the power to make a real dent in elite featherweights, making the 118 pound limit safely is simply not feasible at this stage in his career.
Donaire is thirty-five-years-old, an advanced age for a boxer in the lighter weight categories, and has been through many wars in a professional career which began all the way back in 2001. After capturing World titles in four different weight classes and achieving recognition as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, you could argue that he has little left to prove at this stage.
Between 2007 and 2012, Donaire went on a tear, defeating a string of elite foes from 112 to 122 pounds, often in highlight-reel-fashion courtesy of a wicked left hook. Then he faced – and was decisively beaten – by Guillermo Rigondeaux in 2013 and has never really looked the same since.
Despite picking up a belt at featherweight and recapturing his old WBO super bantamweight strap in that time, Donaire has failed to deliver when facing elite foes, losing to the likes of Nicholas Walters, Jessie Magdaleno and the aforementioned Frampton.
Meanwhile, the green pastures of 118 pounds which Donaire departed from seven years ago have been transformed into Death Valley with killers running amok in every corner. The current titleholders at bantamweight are all simply too young, too fresh and, quite frankly, too good for the current version of ‘The Filipino Flash’. Two of them, Tete and Inoue, may rank among the hardest ‘pound-for-pound’ hitters in all of boxing today. The best version of Donaire at 118 pounds would have been more than a match for them all. However, there can be little doubt that today’s incarnation would lose to all of them – and badly so.
Donaire has enjoyed a terrific boxing career which may yet see him enter the ‘Hall of Fame’ one day. Should he retire now, he will do so on the back of a clear loss, but one in which he went the distance, gave a decent account of himself against a quality opponent and endeared himself even to opposition fans with his geniality and classy manner. It is as dignified a farewell to the sport as he could hope for in the circumstances.
His boxing legacy is intact, but there is no guarantee that he himself will be if an ill-advised return to bantamweight materialises.
Article by: Paul Lam
You can follow Paul on Twitter at: @PaulTheWallLam