Nonito Donaire not considering retirement, may drop in weight

Ryan Songalia

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Nonito Donaire not considering retirement, may drop in weight
“God saved me last night. I would have died by the sword last night," says Donaire

MANILA, Philippines – Nonito Donaire Jr. says he isn’t considering retiring following his sixth round knockout loss to Nicholas Walters, revealing that his next step will likely be a drop in weight.

Donaire, posting on his official Facebook page, said Walters was too big for him, which he feels contributed to him losing his WBA featherweight title on Saturday, October 18 (Sunday PH time) at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif.

“I’m going to take some time off and rebuild myself all over again. I’ll come back stronger and probably at a lower weight,” said Donaire (33-3, 21 knockouts), who has won titles at flyweight, bantamweight, junior featherweight and featherweight. Donaire also held the interim WBA junior bantamweight title, which is not recognized as a full championship. 

The 31-year-old Donaire from San Leandro, Calif. by way of Talibon, Bohol, Philippines suffered the first two knockdowns of his career against Walters (25-0, 21 knockouts) of Montego Bay, Jamaica. 

“God saved me last night,” said Donaire. “I would have died by the sword last night. I would have kept getting up and if I stayed in that fight til the 12th I could have gotten brain damage. Walters was just too big for me.

“If I got past Walters I would have fought with [former featherweight titleholder Orlando] Salido at 130lbs and really gotten hurt.”

(RELATED: Nonito Donaire must pick up the pieces)

Donaire’s best performances have come in the lighter divisions, like when he won Knockout of the Year honors for his performances against Vic Darchinyan and Fernando Montiel at flyweight and bantamweight, respectively. Donaire’s greatest laurel came in 2012, when he was named the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) Fighter of the Year, becoming just the second Asian (after Manny Pacquiao) to be honored as such. 

Donaire has struggled since moving up to featherweight, trailing on the scorecards against Darchinyan in a rematch before scoring a bailout knockout and looking underwhelming in a technical decision win over Simpiwe Vetyeka earlier this year. – Rappler.com

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