Tag Archives: Nonito Donaire

Posted on 06/19/2021

By: Hans Themistode

After defying the odds by becoming the oldest bantamweight champion at the age of 38, Nonito Donaire will look to lace his shoulders with even more gold.

In an abrupt change of events, Donaire will now take on WBO titlist, John Riel Casimero on August 14th. Originally, Casimero was set to take on former champion, Guillermo Rigondeaux. The Cuban native isn’t injured but Al Haymon, head man in charge at Premier Boxing Champions, has decided to make a unification bout instead. Although Rigondeaux has been moved from the main event, he will still make an appearance on the undercard. Should he win against his new opponent, the crafty southpaw could face the winner of the new main event.

Donaire, as previously mentioned, become the oldest champion in bantamweight history just a few weeks ago. The 38-year-old walked into his showdown against Nordine Oubaali as a considerable underdog. Yet, it was the Filipino native who waltzed into Dignity Health Sports Park and laid a beating on the former champion. Oubaali would hit the deck twice in the third round and once more in the fourth before their contest was officially waved off. Ironically enough, if Donaire and Rigondeaux come out victorious, it’ll set up a rematch almost a decade in the making.

In April of 2013, Donaire, who held the WBA and WBO super bantamweight titles, took on Rigondeaux at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. While Donaire was considered a pound-for-pound star at the time, Rigondeaux easily outboxed him to win his world titles.

As for Casimero, he picked up his sixth stoppage win a row late last year as he destroyed fringe contender Duke Micah.

Posted on 05/28/2021

By: Hans Themistode

With Nonito Donaire (17-0, 12 KOs) ready to strap gold around his waist once again and Nordine Oubaali (40-6, 26 KOs) on the cusp of nabbing the biggest win of his career, both men proved how much their upcoming showdown means as they tipped the scale weighing the exact same.

At the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, former multiple division titlist Nonito Donaire and Nordine Oubaali faced off one final time before their contest. A confident Donaire stepped to the scale first and checked in at 117.6 pounds. Once he flexed and posed for pictures, an excited Oubaali did the same, also registering at 117.6 pounds.

Twice before was their WBC bantamweight title fight scheduled and postponed due to COVID-19. Thanks to several unwanted delays, both men have been out of the ring for roughly a year and a half.

Donaire, 38, will look to prove that his most recent performance against pound-for-pound star, Naoya Inoue, was more than just a last hurrah. Despite heading into their showdown as a considerable underdog, Donaire performed well against the undefeated puncher and gave him his most difficult fight to date, breaking his orbital bone in the process. While he came up short, his efforts landed him with another world title opportunity against Oubaali.

With a considerable amount of ring rust, Oubaali is hoping to get acclimated to likely future Hall of Famer as soon the opening bell rings. The French native last defended his title against Takuma Inoue, the younger brother of Naoya Inoue a year and a half ago, winning a wide decision.

The event kicks off tomorrow night on Showtime at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time.

Posted on 07/24/2020

By: Hans Themistode

Grotesque mismatches were becoming the norm in this new COVID-19 boxing landscape. Financial issues and the lack of a live audience gave promoters the right to place uninteresting matchups on television screens across the world. 

While it was appreciated, fans were grinding their teeth as they saw predictable fight after predictable fight. Compelling and interesting matchups would have to wait until the back end of 2020 or worse, sometime in 2021. 

For Al Haymon and Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) however, they would hear none of it. 

Earlier this week PBC announced their SHOWTIME schedule for the remainder of 2020, and it did not disappoint. Numerous championship matchups have now flooded boxing fans’ once desolate schedule. With so many interesting contests, we’ve decided to rank the best five from the group. 

Every contest on the docket is worth watching, but here’s our choice for the best of the best of PBC’s SHOWTIME Boxing schedule.

5. Erickson Lubin vs Terrell Gausha 

Erickson Lubin (22-1, 16 KOs) has been waiting to prove that he isn’t a hype job. The former ESPN prospect of the year looked to be the real deal during the early portion of his career. However, a right hand from Jermell Charlo in Lubin’s first crack at a world title in 2017, put an end to that notion. Since then, Lubin has been hard at work reshaping his image. The Florida native has picked up four straight wins with three coming via stoppage, and now finds himself in a WBC title eliminator against Terrell Gausha. 

Much like Lubin, the former Olympian has done some reshaping of his own, although not as successful. After losing a one sided contest in his own bid to win a world title contest against Erislandy Lara in 2017, Gausha (21-1-1, 10 KOs) has been both inactive, fighting only once a year, and lackluster, scoring a draw against Austin Trout in his last ring appearance. 

Not only are these two fairly evenly matched, but with the next title shot up for grabs, there is plenty on the line.

4. Nonito Donaire vs Nordine Oubaali 

The retirement train was thought to have long left the station with Nonito Donaire onboard. Yet, it appears that the 37 year old isn’t ready to pack up and leave just yet. After suffering losses to Jessie Magdaleno and Carl Frampton, Donaire (40-6, 26 KOs) received a bit of luck in reaching the finals of the World Boxing Super Series in 2019. 

Meeting him there, was pound for pound star Naoya Inoue. The easy win that was predicted for Inoue was anything but that as Donaire gave him the toughest fight of his life. He may have come out on the losing end, but his performance has earned him a crack at WBC belt holder Nordine Oubaali (17-0, 12 KOs). 

For most of his six year career, Oubaali has made it look easy. But while Donaire will walk into this one as an underdog, he has already proven that he has plenty left in the tank. 

3. Jermell Charlo vs Jeison Rosario 

Of all the matchups on this list, WBC titlist Jermell Charlo and his unification matchup against WBA and IBF champion Jeison Rosario, was the most surprising. 

Rosario came out of absolutely nowhere last year when he ripped away the titles from Julian Williams. Instead of sitting back on his laurels and milking his belts for easy paydays, Rosario has decided to attempt to add even more to his hardware collection. 

Charlo (33-1, 17 KOs) has gotten over his Tony Harrison saga and now finds himself fighting to become a unified champion. The betting public is already backing Charlo heavily, but they did the same when Rosario took on Williams, so he has no problem with the little amount of faith shown in him. 

2. Gervonta Davis vs Leo Santa Cruz 

For as explosive and dangerous as Gervonta Davis (23-0, 22 KOs) has looked during his career, fans were beginning to roll their eyes whenever a new unknown fighter stood across the ring from him. A highlight reel knockout is always waiting to happen, but resistance seldom followed. 

On October 24th, however, Leo Santa Cruz (37-1-1, 19 KOs) will be looking to give Davis all he can handle when they face off. The four division world champion has grown tired of constant murmurs that he has eschewed the competition. 

The storyline behind this one is simple. Davis has the punching power and speed on his side, while Santa Cruz is banking on his punch output and relentless pressure. 

The winner of this one will have answered a ton of questions, while the loser on the other hand, will see their stock plummet.

1. Jermall Charlo vs Sergiy Derevyanchenko 

Jermall Charlo (30-0, 22 KOs) has gained a reputation. He’s a big puncher, aggressive personality and an unknown commodity. Even with wins over Julian Williams and Austin Trout, Charlo continues to hear the doubters. He’s asked for big name fights against the likes of Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin, but you can hear a pin drop from either of those fighters in regards to interest. 

Sergiy Derevyanchenko (13-2, 10 KOs) may not be the opponent that he wanted, but he is without question his toughest test yet. With two razor close decision losses to Daniel Jacobs and the aforementioned Golovkin, many believe that the Ukrainian born contender should already hold a world title. Nevertheless, he’ll pick up his third chance against Charlo on September 26th. 

The intrigue surrounding this one is huge. In a contest that can be essentially decided with the flip of a coin, it ranks number one on our list of the best fights to watch on the SHOWTIME Boxing schedule.