Nonito Donaire smashes Nordine Oubaali in four to win WBC title

Nonito Donaire did it again, making more history in his legendary career, as he stopped Nordine Oubaali in the fourth round to win the WBC bantamweight title, becoming at 38 the oldest major bantamweight champion in boxing history.

Donaire (41-6, 27 KO) felt Oubaali out for the first round, with Oubaali darting in and out, displaying some energy, maybe looking to see if he could get Donaire to bite on something.

But Donaire stayed composed, and by the second round was finding a home for his counter right hand, which has become a bigger weapon as he’s aged into his career. Then in the third, he found Oubaali (17-1, 12 KO) with his real trademark, the counter left hook, and put the Frenchman on the canvas for the first time.

A second knockdown came very late in the third round, which may have been a punch that landed just after the bell, but was definitely not an intentionally late shot. Referee Jack Reiss counted it as a knockdown, and gave Oubaali, 34, every chance he could to recover and show he could continue into the fourth round. Oubaali, frankly, didn’t know where he was at that point, but he did get up and responded well enough for the referee.

Donaire found him again, and ended things at 1:52 of the fourth round, catching him with a series of shots that ended on another left hand. Reiss had seen enough then, and Donaire had once again proven just how great he really is.

“I believe that it matters not what your age is, it matters how you are mentally, how strong you are mentally,” Donaire said. “What I learned from (a 2019 loss to Naoya) Inoue is I’m back. I knew I could compete with him, and I was not fighting, I was learning. I’m ready for the next one!”

And yes, Donaire absolutely wants a rematch with Naoya Inoue.

“That’s what I wanted to win this fight, because that’s my next goal,” he said. “The only thing I haven’t done in boxing is become undisputed, and the next phase is getting the rematch.”



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