ALTHOUGH Nonito Donaire Jr. is coming into the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) bantamweight finals as a huge underdog, his father and trainer Nonito Donaire Sr. is confident of his son’s chances of beating the No. 4 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Naoya Inoue.
Inoue, the biggest star from Japan today, rarely shows weakness in his fights and usually dominates his opponents. Despite that, Donaire Sr. believes he has seen a chink in Inoue’s armor.
“Jun Jun’s (Donaire Jr.) punches will go through because of Inoue’s lack of defense,” Donaire Sr. told SunStar Cebu.
Donaire Sr. feels that Inoue tends to be open when he attacks. That’s the time, he believes, his son can hurt Inoue.
“The big guys get hurt with Jun Jun’s punches. How much more the small guys?” said Donaire Sr.
Donaire Jr. and Inoue are fighting on Nov. 7 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
The fight will unify both the International Boxing Federation (IBF) bantamweight belt and World Boxing Association (WBA) bantamweight super title and the winner will get the coveted Muhammad Ali Trophy.
The 36-year-old Donaire Jr. has already started training in Las Vegas, and training will come to a full swing with a possible camp in Manila.
Donaire Jr. opened up the tournament with a fourth-round stoppage win over Ryan Burrnett, who was forced to quit due to a back injury. He followed it up with a sixth-round knockout of replacement Stephon Young, who stepped in for injured Zolani Tete, in the semifinals.
The 26-year-old Inoue has dominated the whole tournament thus far, knocking out Juan Carlos Payano in one round and Emmanuel Rodriguez in two rounds.
Donaire Jr. is 40-5 with 26 knockouts, while Inoue is 18-0 with 16 knockouts. (EKA)