Nonito Donaire is a champion once more—albeit of the interim tag. This after he beat Chilean fighter Andres Campos via unanimous decision at the end of the ninth round, when the fight was called off due to an accidental clash of heads. The fight took place at Casino Buenos Aires in Argentina.
Donaire (43-8, 28 KOs), who fought for the first time after a nearly two-year hiatus, looked nothing like The Filipino Flash that he was in his prime. But he did just enough to get the nod of all three judges—87-84, 87-84 and 88-83—and give Campos (17-3-1, 6 KOs) the third loss of career.
The 12-round fight was halted in the ninth round after a clash of heads left Donaire unable to see out of his right eye due to a big cut. Donaire got the nod of the judges to win the interim WBA bantamweight crown.
History Beckons for Nonito Donaire
With the win, Nonito Donaire’s chase for history is halfway done, as he is now in line to face the winner of Antonio Vargas vs. Daigo Higa. The Vargas-Higa fight is for the WBA bantamweight belt and is set to take place July 30 in Japan.
The 42-year-old Donaire is looking to rest the record for oldest 118-pound fighter to win a title—a record he himself holds. In 2021, at the age of 38, Donaire won the WBC bantamweight plum when he knocked out Nordine Oubali, making him the oldest bantamweight titleholder.
Donaire lost the WBC belt via stoppage in his very next fight against Japanese sensation Naoya Inoue, whom the Filipino Flash took to 12 rounds in their first bout in 2019. Then, in 2023, Donaire lost to Mexico’s Alejandro Santos via unanimous decision for the vacant WBO bantamweight title on the undercard of Terence Crawford’s ninth-round stoppage win over Errol Spence.
Now, nearly two years later, Nonito Donaire might just get another shot at rewriting history. He’ll surely be gunning for a more favorable outcome this time.
