Nonito Donaire fights a 'monster' Nov.7

Legendary Filipino-American Nonito ‘The Filipino Flash’ Donaire (40-5, 26 KOs) is poised to tame Japan’s ‘Monster’ Naoya Inoue (18-0, 16 KOs) on November 7 in the WBSS Bantamweight Ali Trophy final at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

The bantamweight finalists are both fearsome knockout artists who can stop their opponents, but Inoue’s total fight time of 5 minutes and 29 seconds in the World Boxing Super Series has turned him into the man of the hour.

“Fighting one of the world’s best boxers who have grown into a monster is a big motivation,” said Donaire, a multiple world champion in four weight classes.

Despite his impressive merits, strong performances in the WBSS and status as WBC Diamond and WBA ‘Super’ Champion, ‘The Filipino Flash’ does not enter the ‘Drama in Saitama’ as a favourite against the IBF World and WBA ‘Regular’ champ. But he strongly believes in delivering a result that will reverberate around the world.

"I’m just very excited," said the 36-year-old. "I don’t see myself with any disadvantages going into the final.

“I will give everything I have to win and I believe I can do it. It has been predicted that the keys to the fight are speed and power and the one who makes a mistake first will lose. On the other hand, we both have boxing brains, so it can be a long game like chess.”

DAZN, the world’s largest dedicated live sports streaming service, will exclusively bring U.S. fight fans the WBSS Season II Finals.

Photos are free to use, please credit: Naoki Fukuda