Nonito Donaire takes on Brazilian foe in March

MANILA, Philippines – Five-division world champion Nonito Donaire now has an opponent for his return to the super bantamweight division as he is set to face little-known Brazilian fighter William Prado on March 28 at the 20,000-seater SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Metro Manila.

After suffering an excruciating defeat in the hands of Nicholas Walters at featherweight, Donaire (33-3, 21 knockouts) considered making his comeback to the 122-pound division, where he unified three title belts in 2012 by defeating the likes of Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., Jeffrey Mathebula and Toshiaki Nishioka.

Donaire concluded his impressive 2012 campaign on a high note by stopping Jorge Arce in the third round, earning him the “Fighter of the Year” award from the Boxing Writers Association of America.

However, he tasted a disappointing setback the following year as he yielded to Cuban boxer Guillermo Rigondeaux via unanimous decision.

Following his lackluster performance against Rigondeaux, Donaire climbed up to featherweight and had a triumphant run in his first two outings, pulling off a come-from-behind victory over Vic Darchinyan in a November 2013 rematch before beating Simpiwe Vetyeka by technical decision to capture the World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight strap in May 2014.

The 32-year-old switch-hitter unfortunately failed to make it three in a row as a 126-pound competitor when he dropped the WBA world title to Walters in October 2014.

Walters turned the lights off on Donaire with a powerful overhand right to the left temple that sent “The Filipino Flash” crashing down to the canvas in the sixth round.

On the other hand, Prado (22-4-1, 15 KOs) has won three of last four matches since he snapped his 14-fight winning streak with back-to-back defeats.

The lone loss of the 31-year-old Brazilian during that stretch came by third-round knockout to England’s Scott Quigg, who won the WBA junior featherweight title in his next bout.

The scheduled ten-round bout between Donaire and Prado will be part of a fight card that also features World Boxing Organization junior flyweight champion Donnie Nietes, who will defend his belt in the main event against Luis Ceja of Mexico. – Rappler.com