Nonito Donaire Discusses his Second Round Stoppage Loss to Naoya Inoue!
The highly anticipated rematch between unified 118-pound champion Naoya “The Monster” Inoue (23-0, 20KOs) and former WBC champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire (42-7, 28KOs) ended in emphatic fashion. Both fighters had to wait two and a half years after their initial Fight of the Year candidate dustup to rekindle their rivalry. The first fight proved to be extremely tough for both men. Inoue’s right orbital bone was broken and Donaire was dropped by a vicious left hook to the body.
While Inoue walked away with the unanimous decision victory, the fans weren’t impressed as he went life and death against a past his prime Filipino Flash. However, once the two men squared off again, it was a completely different story! The Monster dropped Donaire in the first round with a hard right hand. He followed that up in round two with an all-out assault that resulted in the fight being stopped.
With that, Donaire suffered the seventh defeat of his career in brutal, brutal fashion. In the aftermath, the multi-weight world champion and future Hall of Famer reflected on the loss.
“We came up short today, but I do appreciate your guys’ support and prayers. You know, Inoue, he got me really good, and I was always going to keep fighting and I’m glad that the referee stopped the fight because I was going to stand up. So, that’s just part of me. You know, I just don’t have any quit in me.”
REFUSAL TO QUIT!
“No matter what, I was never ever going to just lay down. This part of me, who’s a fighter, But yeah, Inoue was amazing today and he got the best of me. He got me good.”
Donaire, always a humble fighter, is now 39 years old. He’s cemented his legacy as one of the best fighters of the last twenty years. After such a brutal knockout loss, one has to ask: is it time for the Filipino Flash to call it a career? That remains to be seen, but it’s likely under consideration.
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By: Jerrell Fletcher
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