Reigning unified WBO and IBF super bantamweight champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire (29-1-0, 18 KOs) recently announced that his next fight will be against Japan’s Toshiaki Nishioka (39-4-3, 24 KOs).
The fight will be held on October 13 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.
Donaire, who’s coming from a unanimous decision victory over Jeffrey Mathebula, is out to continue his quest to be considered as the best super bantamweight fighter in world. He’ll be taking a big step towards that direction by facing the dangerous Japanese fighter.
Nishioka previously held the WBC version of the super bantamweight crown but he was “elevated” to emeritus champion after beating Mexican legend Rafael Marquez late last year.
The Japanese pugilist first won the interim WBC super bantamweight title back in 2008 against Napopol sor Rungvisai of Thailand. He won the regular title early in 2009 against Genaro Garcia, then went on to defend the title six times against the likes of Jhonny Gonzales and Filipino brawler Balweg Bangoyan.
The Japanese fighter has long wanted the opportunity to fight against Donaire. He is 36 years old and knows that his boxing career is nearing its end. Nishioka wants nothing more than to defeat Donaire and cement his legacy as one of the best fighters that Japan has ever produced.
Nishioka is a southpaw who possesses tremendous power with both hands, although Japanese fighters are not usually known for packing a punch, and he has proven that he has the capability to knockout anyone in the super bantamweight division.
Ring Magazine’s Michael Rosenthal also announced that the Ring Magazine title will also be up for grabs in this fight. In the past years, the Ring championship was only on the line if the division’s first ranked fighter battles the second ranked fighter. However, the powers-that-be decided that the title could also be up for grabs if number oe and number two ranked fighters take on anyone ranked third to fifth, with an approval from The Ring Magazine’s editorial board. - AMD, GMA News
source: gmanetwork.com
