Nonito Donaire clinches WBA interim crown in comeback fight

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Nonito Donaire, 42, returns from a two-year hiatus and edges Chile's Andres Campos via a unanimous technical decision to capture the WBA interim bantamweight belt

MANILA, Philippines – Nonito Donaire clinched the World Boxing Association interim bantamweight crown in anticlimactic fashion on Saturday, June 14 (Sunday, June 15, Manila time), at the Casino Buenos Aires in Argentina.

Bracing for an explosive comeback from a two-year layoff, Donaire instead settled for a unanimous technical decision over Chile’s Andres Campos after a clash of heads in the first minute of the ninth round left the Filipino Flash with a cut near his right eyelid that impaired his vision.

The ring physician stepped in, assessed the damage, and asked the referee to stop the 12-rounder, leaving the outcome to the scorecards that all went Donaire’s way, 87-84, 87-84, and 87-83.

As the oldest interim bantamweight world champion at 42 years old, Donaire is first in line to challenge for the WBA primary crown to be dangled by Antonio Vargas against Daigo Higa on July 30 in Japan.

“Sorry that this happened,” Donaire, the oldest bantamweight king when he was 38, told Boxing Scene. “I wanted to show my fighting heart and warrior spirit to the people of Argentina.

“Next time, I will give it all and do my best. Today, this is my victory and also Argentina’s victory for this opportunity.”

If anything, Donaire showed that there was reserve fuel in his tank.

Exploiting his four-inch reach advantage, the 5-foot-7 Donaire landed more shots to the body as Campos repeatedly tried to penetrate and bridge the gap.

Due to their nearly four-inch disparity in height and Campos’ lunges, three other accidental headbutts happened, twice in the first and once in the sixth.

Donaire lived up to his favorite’s role and climbed to 43-8 with 28 knockouts, while Campos fell to 16-3 with six knockouts.

Already a four-division world champion and a future Hall of Famer, Donaire returned after losing to Alexandro Santiago in their World Boxing Council bantamweight title fight in July 2023, which followed his knockout loss to Naoya Inoue in their three-belt unification rematch in July 2022. – Rappler.com