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Nonito Donaire to drop 2 divisions, enter WBSS

By Matthew Saljanin

Northern Ireland , United Kingdom - 20 March 2018; Nonito Donaire weighs in ahead of the featherweight bout between Carl Frampton and Nonito Donaire at the Kingspan Stadium in Belfast on Saturday at the Europa Hotel in Belfast. (Photo By Oliver McVeigh/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
Northern Ireland , United Kingdom - 20 March 2018; Nonito Donaire weighs in ahead of the featherweight bout between Carl Frampton and Nonito Donaire at the Kingspan Stadium in Belfast on Saturday at the Europa Hotel in Belfast. (Photo By Oliver McVeigh/Sportsfile via Getty Images) /
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Nonito Donaire’s best days are behind him, but that is not stopping him from attempting to win the upcoming bantamweight tournament. With his eyes set on becoming an undisputed champion, winning the tournament will bring him closer to his goal.

It has been announced that Nonito Donaire, a former four-divison world champion, and top five pound-for-pound fighter, will be entering the upcoming World Boxing Super Series bantamweight tournament.

The World Boxing Super Series, or WBSS, is a single-loss elimination tournament that features eight fighters from a given division. Season 1 of the tournament featured the super middleweight and cruiserweight divisions, with both of those tournaments in their final round.

Season 1 should be considered a success, especially in the cruiserweight division, where all four recognized belts were involved, and the winner of the tournament is set to come out as the undisputed champion.

On top of leading to an undisputed champion being crowned in the cruiserweight division, many of the fights in both weight classes have been a joy to watch.

Season 2 is rumored to feature three weight classes, although only two are currently confirmed (bantamweight and super lightweight).

While Donaire entering the tournament may not seem surprising initially, he has not fought at bantamweight since 2011, so the announcement was a bit unexpected. He is currently at featherweight, two weight classes above bantamweight.

Donaire was last seen in action this April, when he was outpointed by Carl Frampton. While he did not look terrible, he was not very competitive, as all three judges scored the bout 117-111.

At 35, Donaire’s best days are certainly behind him, having a record of just 1-2 in his last 3 fights, and is lacking a win over a truly good opponent in nearly 5 years.

Despite being out of his prime, and having to drop two weight classes, ‘The Filipino Flash’ will still attempt to make a run in the tournament. When asked about his goal, Donaire stated that he would like to be an undisputed champion.

Winning this tournament would earn him three of the four major belts in the division, putting his goal well within arm’s reach.

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There are many great fighters in the tournament, all of whom would love the chance to add a name like Donaire’s on their resume.

It will be very interesting to see if Donaire will be able to make the 118-pound limit without killing himself, let alone compete with the other fighters in the tournament. Regardless, Donaire is a welcome addition who will at the least generate buzz around the tournament due to his name alone.

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