LOOK: Donaire borrows trophy from Inoue to fulfill promise to sons

MANILA, Philippines – Nonito Donaire honored his promise to his two sons as they got to witness and get their hands on the Muhammad Ali trophy even if the “Filipino Flash” fell short of winning it. 

Donaire told his sons they would see the precious hardware after his World Boxing Super Series bantamweight final bout against Japanese Naoya Inoue on Thursday, November 7. 

Donaire, though, failed to capture the trophy following a unanimous decision loss, so he asked Inoue if he could have it for a day. 

“I promised my sons they would see it in the morning. And with tears in my eyes, I humbly asked Inoue to borrow it for a night, not for me but for my word,” Donaire said in a series of tweets. 

“It’ll be a life lesson my boys will soon learn. That you do your best and you come short. You will win. You will lose. But in either aspect, you will do so graciously.” 

Donaire added the trophy will serve as reminder to him and sons that they should never back down from challenges, not just in the ring, but also in life. 

“It’ll pain them to see my face. They’ll kiss my wounds,” Donaire said. 

“They’ll see a trophy we don’t get to take home and understand what it means to want to train harder.” 

“And I told about the battle I fought – that I’d rather put my life on that shield than give up. And that we will always fight.” 

As a gesture of gratitude, Donaire and his sons congratulated Inoue. 

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— Nonito Donaire (@filipinoflash) November 8, 2019

Donaire also thanked his supporters, particularly his inner circle. 

“Team Donaire, we trained our asses off and we just shrugged off anyone who said I didn’t stand a chance. We kept grinding and that work showed,” he said. 

“Haters said I was out in one round but we showed ’em our heart, our determination.” 

“To my fans, the journey we are on! You guys have gone gone through it all with me and the amount of energy and love you’ve given is insurmountable.” – Rappler.com