Donaire wins his fourth world boxing title

Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire earned his fourth world boxing title after he won the World Boxing Organization (WBO) super bantamweight title by defeating his Puerto Rican opponent Wilfred Vasquez Jr via split decision at the Alamadome in San Antonio, Texas yesterday.

Two of the judges scored the fight 117-110 in favor of the Filipino fighter, while the other judge gave the bout to Vazquez, 115-112.

Donaire dominated the fight despite sustaining an injury on his left hand during the fourth round. It was his first fight at the 122-pound division after winning the WBC and WBO bantamweight belts.

He said in an interview that Vazquez was tougher than he expected. He added that he couldn’t find his rhythm and he hurt his hand somewhere between the second and fourth rounds.

Vazquez hit the canvass in the ninth round after Donaire tagged him with a combination of right uppercut-left hook. Although the Puerto Rican fighter managed to get back up, he was visibly stunned.

Donaire was the busier fighter in the entire bout. He uses his longer reach and jab to target his opponent from long range. Vazquez started to engage Donaire in the middle rounds, the two boxers exchanging punches from close range in the sixth and seventh rounds. But the knockout came in the ninth round which sealed the Filipino fighter’s victory.