by Dennis Principe
Nonito Donaire, Jr. may have lost in his latest fight but it seems he has yet to lose that zest in winning another world crown.
Saturday night (Sunday morning) in Belfast, Ireland, Donaire failed in his bid to claim the interim World Boxing Organization (WBO) world featherweight belt when bowed to local hero Carl Frampton during their 12-round battle.
All three judges had identical scores of 117-111 all for the 31-year-old Frampton who outboxed and outfoxed the older but game 35-year-old Donaire.
Donaire, however, considers the defeat a temporary setback as he immediately expressed his desire to continue fighting at a lower weight class through his social media account.
“My team, family, and Ringstar will have a meeting but I think it has already been predecided that although I have done my best to gain weight and keep my weight on and strong, it’s best I move back down in weight,” was what Donaire posted moments after the match.
Donaire has won titles in the flyweight, superflyweight, bantamweight, superbantamweight and featherweight divisions but has gone 2-2 in four titles fight at 126.
Despite being rocked by a powerful uppercut by Donaire in the 11th round, Frampton was able to recover from the blow by moving around the ring and throwing clear blows on the onrushing Filipino-American boxer.
“Nonito Donaire was dangerous from start to finish. I stuck to the game plan and at times my boxing was beautiful,” said Frampton.
Frampton upped his record to 25-1 with 14 stoppages while Donaire ends up with a 38-5 tally, 24 via the short route.
Meantime in Singapore, Bicolano Michael Dasmariñas took home the International Boxing Organization (IBO) bantamweight belt when he stopped the highly-favored Karim Guerfi of France in the fourth round of their 12-round title bout Saturday night.
