Donaire beats foe, wins 4th championship belt

Posted at 5:07 pm February 06, 2012

Tags: Boxing

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By Joel Pinaroc

TEXAS, USA – Filipino boxer Nonito Donaire won the World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior featherweight championship by outpointing Puerto Rican rival Wilfredo Vazquez, Jr. in a hard-fought match held at the Alamo Dome on Sunday.

With the victory, Donaire, known as the “Filipino Flash,” joins compatriot Manny Pacquiao as one of the very few Filipino multi-division champions in boxing. Donaire has won championship belts at flyweight, junior bantamweight, bantamweight, and now junior featherweight.

The heavy-handed Donaire (28-1, 18 KOs) has moved up in weight to challenge former champion Vazquez. Donaire used his superior speed and vaunted power to constantly outbox the Puerto Rican fighter and even drop Vazquez with a beautiful left upper cut and left hook combination midway in the 10^th round.

Two judges scored the bout 117-110 in favor of Donaire while a third judge scored the bout a close 115-112 in favor of Vazquez.

Donaire improved his record to 28 wins, 1 loss, and 18 knockouts, while Vazquez dropped to 21 wins, 2 losses, and 18 knockouts.

However, a report from ESPN said Donaire might have broken his left hand in pounding the split-decision victory over Vazquez. The injury is not severe, according to the report.

Top Rank, the promoter of both Pacquiao and Donaire, said it has lined up several high-profile fights for Donaire within the year. One of Donaire’s potential fights is against popular Mexican champion Jorge Arce.

Donaire beats foe, wins 4th championship belt

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