DONAIRE MAKES SUCCESSFUL RING RETURN

(UPDATE) NONITO "The Filipino Flash" Donaire made a successful ring return after beating Andres Campos of Chile via technical decision and claiming the World Boxing Association (WBA) interim bantamweight belt at the Casino Buenos Aires in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

A clash of heads left the 42-year-old Donaire unable to see out of his bloodied right eye in the ninth round, prompting the referee to stop the bout and refer to the judges' scorecards to determine the winner.

At that point, Donaire, who last fought in 2023, was leading Campos, 87-84, 87-84, and 88-83, to seize the win and put an end to two straight defeats.

The first of those losses came at the hands of Japanese undefeated champ Naoya Inoue, who knocked out Donaire in the second round of their rematch in June 2022.

Donaire then lost to Mexican Alejandro Santiago via unanimous decision in July 2023.

With his successful ring return, Donaire improved to a 43-8 slate with 28 knockouts.

The 28-year-old Campos dropped to a 17-2-1 win-loss-draw card.

Donaire put himself in position to face the winner between WBA bantamweight champion Antonio Vargas of the United States and challenger Daigo Higa of Japan.

Vargas and Higa will square off on July 30.

Next month, another Filipino boxing legend, Manny Pacquiao, takes the comeback trail.

Fighting for the first time in four years and at 46 years old, Pacquiao will go up against World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight 30-year-old champ Mario Barrios of the US in Las Vegas on July 19.

2025-06-15T16:27:17Z