Nonito Donaire is once again in the title picture just one fight into his comeback, even if it was accomplished in anticlimactic fashion.
Donaire, the legendary former four-division champ, claimed an interim version of the WBA 118lbs title with a technical unanimous decision over Andres Campos. The bout was stopped 1 minute into the ninth round when a clash of heads left Donaire cut and unable to see out of his right eye.
Scorecards to that point were 87-84, 87-84 and 88-83, all in Donaire’s favor in the fighters’ TyC Sports main event Saturday from Casino Buenos Aires in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
“Sorry that this happened,” Donaire said of the bout ending in such a manner. “I wanted to show my fighting heart and warrior spirit to the people of Argentina.
“Next time, I will give it all and do my best. Today, this is my victory and also Argentina’s victory for this opportunity.”
Donaire – born in the Philippines but now raised in Las Vegas – hadn’t fought in nearly two years prior to Saturday, though much of it was spent preparing for a return. A portion of the downtime was spent recovering from a car crash last March, though the bulk of his time away could be attributed to a planned showdown with Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez that never materialized.
The comeback began with a brief scare. A clash of heads caused Chile’s Campos to wince in pain, as he was bothered by his right eye barely 90 seconds into the bout. Donaire was clipped by a head-butt later in the round, though he kept the line moving and remained on the hunt.
Any signs of ring rust for the 42-year-old Donaire were shook loose by the second round. The Fil-Am star was dialed in with his right hand. The weapon helped set up a left hook as part of a two-punch combination. Campos – a former flyweight contender who moved up from 115 for this opportunity – managed a left hook of his own just before the bell.
Momentum remained with Donaire for much of the night, though Campos enjoyed pockets of success in the fourth. Donaire was able to shake off the best moments from the former title challenger and continue with his attack.
Time was called in the sixth because of another head-butt. Both fighters were warned to keep it clean, as Campos sought to keep his distance from the forward-charging Donaire.
The start of the second half saw Donaire work Campos’ body. He also briefly switched to southpaw before he returned to his conventional stance once he saw it didn’t provide any real advantage.
Campos continued to employ in-and-out movement in the eighth. Donaire stood directly in front of his younger foe and scored with body shots. Time was called as Donaire was hurled to the canvas by Campos during an exchange. Donaire let his hands go and crashed home a right hand to the chin just before the bell.
Donaire attempted to draw in Campos but ultimately paid the price. Another clash of heads left Donaire with a cut just outside his right eyelid and with compromised vision. Time was called as the ringside physician was summoned to survey the damage before he advised referee Luis Pabon to stop the fight.
Campos, 17-3-1 (6 KOs), is now just 2-3-1 in his past six starts. Saturday was a one-off at bantamweight, primarily for the favorable payday and secondary title opportunity, as he plans to drop back down in weight.
Future plans for Donaire, 43-8 (28 KOs) aren’t quite as clear-cut.
Saturday’s outcome leaves him with a version of the bantamweight title, and now as the mandatory challenger to primary WBA titleholder Antonio Vargas, 19-1 (11 KOs).
It also served as Donaire’s first win since a December 2021 knockout over Reymart Gaballo.
Donaire defended his WBC bantamweight title that evening but lost the belt six months later to Naoya Inoue via second-round knockout in their June 2022 rematch for the lineal, WBC, WBA and IBF titles. A bid to become a four-time bantamweight titlist came 13 months later, but it ended with Donaire on the wrong end of a lopsided decision in favor of Alexandro Santiago in July 2023.
Regardless of what’s next, Donaire is destined for the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He was the top man during championship stays as flyweight, his first tour at bantamweight and junior featherweight, and also had a title run at featherweight.
The 118lbs division seems to have been Donaire’s sweet spot, as he made a point to return to the weight in November 2018.
It provided a historic moment as he defeated unbeaten WBA titlist Ryan Burnett via fourth-round injury stoppage. The feat came just prior to Donaire’s 36th birthday, allowing him to eclipse countryman Gerry Penalosa as the oldest bantamweight titleholder in history.
Donaire broke his own record more than two years later when a 38-year-old version tore through unbeaten WBC 118lbs belt holder Nordine Ouballi in May 2021.
Still, back-to-back defeats to Inoue and Santiago left him with hard choices to make. A team decision was made last year to make one more run, though the business side of the sport managed to get in the way.
The opportunity to appear atop the WBA’s annual “KO to Drugs”-themed card finally opened a door, even though he didn’t get to unearth his entire arsenal because of the cut-induced ending.
“I will always strive to do better,” Donaire said to his adoring fans. “Without you, I am nothing.”
On the undercard, Junior Narvaes, 4-0 (1 KO), picked up his first career win inside the distance with a third-round technical knockout of Dennis Martinez.
The battle of Argentine southpaws saw Narvaes, an unbeaten 20-year-old, twice floor the hapless Martinez, 0-7 (0 KOs). The first knockdown came late in the second, courtesy of a counter right hook. Narvaes then dropped Martinez early in the third to force the stoppage in their junior featherweight bout.
Locally based Leandro Robutti picked up his biggest win to date with a stunning first-round knockout of unbeaten Jackson Murray.
Their heavyweight battle saw Robutti, 13-7 (10 KOs), line up Australia’s Murray, 7-1 (5 KOs), for a booming left hand. The shot produced the bout’s lone knockdown and an immediate stoppage at 1 minute, 56 seconds of Round 1.
All but one of Robutti’s 10 stoppage wins have come in the opening round.