THE world championship fight between Filipino star Nonito Donaire Jr. and Alexandro Santiago has been pushed back to July 29, 2023 (US time) in the undercard of the world title unification bout between Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Donaire Jr. and Santiago were supposed to fight today, July 16 (PH time), for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) bantamweight title at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.
Donaire Jr. wants a second reign as WBC bantamweight champion and break his own record as the oldest bantamweight champion at 40 years old.
Donaire Jr. won the WBC bantamweight strap after dethroning Nordine Oubaali by a fourth round knockout in 2021 in Carson, California, becoming the oldest bantamweight champion in boxing history at 38. He had a successful title defense against fellow Filipino Reymart Gaballo, who he knocked out in four rounds, later that year also in Carson.
Donaire Jr. then fought a world title unification against Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue and lost the fight by a second round stoppage last year in Japan.
The WBC bantamweight belt was up for grabs after Inoue decided to vacate all four belts to move up in weight.
Donaire Jr. earned an immediate shot at the belt because he’s the No. 1 ranked bantamweight by the WBC.
Donaire Jr. trained in Cebu for his upcoming fight, setting up camp at the Omega Boxing Gym.
The 27-year-old Santiago is rated No. 4 by the WBC. He’s on a three-bout winning streak, which includes wins over former world title challengers David Carmona and Antonio Nieves.
Santiago lost to the likes of Gary Antonio Russell, one-time world title challenger Hector Flores and unheralded Johnny Michel Garcia.
Donaire Jr., a four-division world champion, is 42-7 with 28 knockouts, while Santiago is 27-3-5 with 14 knockouts. (EKA)