FOUR-DIVISION world champion Nonito Donaire Jr. is out to set another milestone in boxing as he attempts to break his own record as the oldest bantamweight world champion in boxing.
Now at 40 years old, Donaire Jr. will try to break the record he set in 2021 when he dethroned Nordine Oubaali via a fourth-round knockout to win the World Boxing Council (WBC) bantamweight belt at 38.
Donaire Jr. is once again fighting for the WBC bantamweight strap, this time, against hungry Mexican Alexandro Santiago, a fighter 13 years younger than him, on Sunday, July 29, 2023, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada in the undercard of the much-anticipated welterweight world title unification bout between Errol Spence and Terence Crawford.
Donaire Jr. is a world champion in three different decades and is one of the last few remaining fighters of what was Philippines’ Golden Era of boxing that saw Filipino greats like Manny Pacquiao, Brian Viloria and Donnie Nietes.
Donaire Jr. is out to prove that he still has some gas left in the tank with another run at a world title. It’ll be his fourth time to win a bantamweight title if he beats Santiago.
“Mexicans are tough boxers. But we have height and reach advantage. Santiago is only 5’2.” Nonito’s keys to victory is to establish his jab early, stay in his range or distance to set up his big punch, and a lot of patience.The biggest factor is that he’ll use his experience because the opponent is younger and very hungry. This will be an exciting fight and we’ll do our best to win,” Jinggoy Junco, one of Donaire Jr.’s cornermen and defensive coordinator, told SunStar Cebu.
Donaire Jr. set up camp in Cebu for this fight, training at the Omega Boxing Gym. He had a lot of quality sparring from different Cebu-based boxers, which included a session with former world champion Johnriel Casimero.
Donaire Jr. is coming off a second-round loss to Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue.
The 27-year-old Santiago is as tough as they come. He fought former International Boxing Federation super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas to a split draw in 2018. He has also faced the likes of former world title challengers like Antonio Nieves, David Carmona and Hector Flores.
Donaire Jr. tipped the scales at 117.25 pounds, while Santiago weighed-in at 117.5 pounds.
Donaire Jr. is 42-7 with 28 knockouts, while Santiago is 27-3-5 with 14 knockouts.
The undercard also features three other Pinoy fighters: former world title challenger Aston Palicte, Demler Zamora and Justin Viloria.
Palicte (28-5-1, 23 KOs) takes on undefeated Mexican prospect Jose Salas (12-0, 9 KOs) in a 10-rounder.
The 18-year-old Viloria (2-0, 2 KOs), the nephew of former world champion and Olympian Brian Viloria, trades leathers with Mexican upstart Pedro Borgaro (5-0, 3 KOs) in a six-rounder.
Zamora (11-0, 9 KOs) locks horns with Russian Nikolai Buzolin (9-4-1, 5 KOs) in an eight-round fight.