He still has to get the job done in the ring, but Nonito Donaire at least defied Father Time at the scale.
The middle-aged future Hall of Fame arrived at a ripped and ready 117.75lbs in his bid to become a four-time bantamweight titlist. Donaire will challenge unbeaten Seiya Tsutsumi, who was also 117.75lbs for their WBA bantamweight title consolidation bout Wednesday at the famed Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan.
Tsutsumi, 12-0-3 (8 KOs), will risk his WBA 118lbs title against the 43-year-old Donaire, 43-8 (28 KOs), who holds an interim version of that belt.
The exact stakes weren’t known at the time their fight was made earlier this year, which speaks to the professionalism of both boxers who don’t shy away from any challenge.
Tsutsumi will attempt the first defense of his second reign, which was reinstated in November after Antonio Vargas was unavailable for their ordered mandatory title fight. The two swapped places – Tsutsumi’s WBA belt returned and Vargas being named “Champion in Recess”, functionally reversing a ruling from earlier this year.
Vargas was previously upgraded from interim to full titlist when it was Tsutsumi who couldn’t move forward with a mandatory title fight. Injuries sustained in his draw with Daigo Higa this past February didn’t full heal in time, which prompted the ruling.
Four months prior to the brutal clash with Higa, Tsutsumi defeated Takuma Inoue to win the WBA belt. Inoue has since claimed the WBC belt at this weight in a November 24 win over Tenshin Nasukawa.
Donaire, 43-8 (28 KOs) has won titles at flyweight, bantamweight, junior featherweight and featherweight. The 43-year-old Vegas-based Filipino also previously held a secondary belt at 115lbs and claimed an interim WBA 118lbs belt in a win over Andres Campos this past June in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The latter fight was taken on short notice, with the always in-shape Donaire making weight even with a truncated champ. It was a different story on Tuesday, as he sported a chiseled physique to go along with his opponent 14 years his junior.
Also on the show:
Tokyo’s Kyosuke Takami, 10-0 (8 KOs), and Puerto Rico’s Rene Santiago, 14-4 (9 KOs), both made weight for their terrific 108lbs title unification clash.
Takami weighed 117.75lbs as he risks his WBA belt for the first time. Santiago was 107.5lbs ahead of his maiden defense of the WBO belt he claimed in an upset win over Shokichi Iwata on March 13 at this very venue.
Los Angeles’ Anthony Olascuaga, 10-1 (7 KOs, returns to his home away from home for the fourth defense of his WBO 112lbs belt. The 28-year-old American weighed 111.25lbs, while challenger Taku Kuwahara, 14-2 (9 KOs), was also under the limit but slightly heavier than the defending titlist at 111.75lbs.
All three bouts will air live on U-Next in Japan, available in external markets only with the use of a VPN. Streaming outlets were not made available for neither the U.K. nor the U.S., which means you will have to tune into BoxingScene for live coverage on Wednesday.
