Donaire Wants to Extend Legacy

Fightnews ASIA

“The Filipino Flash” Nonito Donaire will try to continue making history against Santiago. Fightnews ASIA. Future Hall of Famer Filipino Nonito Donaire will fight Mexican contender Alexandro Santiago for the vacant WBC World Bantamweight Title this Saturday under Errol Spence Jr. vs. Terence Crawford, which will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The fight is organized by Premier Boxing Champions and will be televised by Showtime PPV and ESPN Latin America.

The Donaire vs. Santiago, which was originally scheduled for July 15, will be the second fight of the pay-per-view.

The previously announced fight between Gurgen Hovhannisyan (4-0, 4 KO’s) of Armenia and Viktor Faust (11-1, 7 KO’s) of Ukraine was called off after Faust was forced to pull out due to a back injury.

One of the most successful active fighters in the sport, Donaire (42-7, 28 KOs) has captured titles at flyweight, bantamweight, super bantamweight and featherweight.

He will look to make another run at bantamweight after capturing the title with a May 2021 knockout of Nordine Oubaali and ultimately a loss to Naoya Inoue in their June 2022 rematch.

Representing his native Talibon, Bohol, Philippines, Donaire’s previous bantamweight campaign began in 2018 as he defeated then-undefeated champion Ryan Burnett in his hometown to capture a title once again, before ultimately losing the belt in Fight of the Year 2019 in their first meeting. against Inoue.

“I am delighted to have the opportunity to become a world champion once again in what is already a historic night for boxing,” said Donaire. “I am grateful to my team for this opportunity and I will do everything possible to make the most of it. We are working very hard on defense and being as quick as possible.

“It’s been an amazing camp and I can’t wait to get in the ring.”

A native of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, Santiago (27-3-5, 14 KOs) will challenge for a bantamweight crown for the first time in his career on July 15, when he enters this fight riding a three-fight winning streak since a majority decision loss to Gary Antonio Russell in November 2021.

The 27-year-old had previously fought for a 115-pound championship in September 2018, fighting Jerwin Ancajas in a split draw. Santiago recently avenged one of the ties on his record, as he stopped Antonio Nieves in seven rounds last October.

“I’ve been waiting five years for another world title shot, so another two weeks is nothing,” Santiago said. “I’m still focused and working hard. The objective and goal remain the same.

“I am very lucky and would like to thank my team for this great opportunity to be a part of such an amazing event on July 29.”