Among the Philippines’ pound-for-pound pioneers, 2001 saw Nonito Donaire Jr. as the next national boxing treasure, with the PacMan planting the seeds. Since his one-punch upset to secure the IBF and IBO flyweight titles from an undefeated Vic Darchinyan in 2007, he has won the hearts of Filipinos worldwide—apart from his father.
Twitter: @ShowtimeBoxing
The Filipino Flash’s hopes of becoming the oldest bantamweight world champion are now up in the air, suffering a unanimous defeat in the hands of 27-year-old Mexican Alexandro Santiago after a 115-113, 116-112, 116-112 scored bout. With the odds initially favoriting the future Filipino Boxing Hall of Famer, his father figuratively sat in his opponent’s corner, hoping to witness a knockout in the hands of now the first-time WBC Bantamweight Champion.
As heart-wrenching as it is to have kin side with the opposition, the comment overtly describes the rocky father-son relationship, initially witnessed through Donaire Sr.’s decision to join the camp of fellow bantamweight Reymart Gaballo in 2021.
When a fellow netizen raised the question regarding the outcome of the Donaire Jr.-Santiago bout on boxer Mike Plania’s live stream, Donaire Sr. responded, mentioning “knockout siya,” drawing more fuel to the fire.
Instagram: @nonitodonaire
Instagram: @nonitodonaire
Regardless of the unfortunate outcome, the now 40-year-old Donaire motions to continue his 13-year professional boxing legacy, noting to be a greater example to his children than his senior.
“I am going to keep going, I am going to keep fighting, and I am going to get undisputed… It is strap season, you know what I am just cleaning up the house. The only thing I don’t have in my record is becoming undisputed, and that is my goal,” Donaire mentions.
