Nonito Donaire retains title with bodyshot stoppage - eyes Naoya Inoue rematch

Saturday night, live from the Dignity Health Sports Park, in Carson, California, it was the WBC bantamweight champion, and future Hall of Famer, Nonito Donaire against unbeaten WBC interim champion Reymart Gaballo in the main event on the ShowTime Network.

Donaire (42-6, 28 KO’s), despite looking at 4-decades on his next birthday, showed that there is still lots of fight left in him. Saturday night, Vegas-residing Donaire put Filipino countryman Reymart Gaballo (24-1, 20 KO’s) on the deck for the full 10-count after a perfectly placed left hook to the body dropped the previously unbeaten challenger; the bout was halted at 2:59 of the 4th round. With the win, Donaire retains his WBC world bantamweight title.

Before the bout, legend Donaire, while not looking past Reymart, clearly had other, legacy-building ideas.

“For me, after the Naoya Inoue fight, I saw that I still had a purpose in this sport. I came in strong against Nordine Oubaali in my last fight because I have that purpose. That purpose is to become undisputed champion of the world. Reymart is a really good fighter, but I’m very confident. I have bigger fish to go after following this fight.”

In a post-fight interview, Donaire, who has fight-ending power in both hands, made it clear that it was the work downstairs that was going to get the job done. And, while happy with the win, he was still very focused on the Naoya Inoue rematch. Their 2019 fight highlighted the fact that even though Donaire is in the twilight of his career, he still has a lot of gas left in the tank.  

“He tried to nullify my left hook, but I just had to have no mercy,” said Donaire. “My wife and my dad were telling me to go to the body. I was throwing the right hand in the earlier rounds and then he didn’t expect the left hook to the body. I thought he was going to get up because I know he has a lot of heart, but that was a tremendous punch that landed.” he said.

What’s that old saying about age just being a number?

“It’s my team’s job to work on the rematch with Inoue,” continued Donaire. “I believe my team is going to make it happen. I’m able to keep fighting at this age because I just have faith in myself and have a lifestyle that’s good for me. There is no such thing as a cheat day. It’s a choice day, and it’s my choice to train and to be me.”

Undercard Bouts

Super Lightweight Brandon Lee (24-0, 22 KO’s) KO 7 Juan Heraldez (16-2-1, 10 KO’s)

Super Bantamweight Marlon Tapales (35-2, 18 KO’s) TKO 2 Hiroski Teshigawara (22-3-2, 15 KO’s)

Cruiserweight Andrew Tabiti (17-1, 5 KOs) KO 5 Mitch Williams (16-8-3, 11 KOs).

Heavyweight Gurgen Hovhahnnisiyan (2-0, 2 KO’s) KO 2 Nick Jones (9-4, 6 KO’s).

Super Welterweight Custio Clayton (18-0-1, 12 KO’s) UD 10 Cameron Krael (18-19-3, 5 KO’s).

Welterweight Bryan Favela (30-2-1, 17 KO’s) KO 1 Tryron Lucky (15-15- 4, 11 KO’s)

Lightweight Jesus Castillo (9-6-2, 3 KO’s) KO 2 Miguel Angel Aispuro (12-10-2, 8 KO’s)