Catching Nonito Donaire off guard is no easy task. The “Filipino Flash” has lived under boxing’s unforgiving spotlight for more than 25 years, batting away thousands of questions from reporters with the same calm composure he once showed against the sport’s most dangerous punchers.
Still, even the most routine fight-week exchange can take an unexpected turn.
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On the Monday before his latest return to the ring, a simple slip of the tongue proved surprisingly revealing. Asked — mistakenly — how his body was holding up at 53, Donaire didn’t correct the question straight away. Instead, he leaned into the accidental prophecy.
“Hey, don’t be surprised if we are having the same chat ten years from now,” Donaire said with a smirk down the camera.
For the record, the future Hall of Famer actually turned 43 last November. But he’s convinced the engine is still humming nicely.
“Because to be honest, I feel amazing at the moment,” he added. “My body, my mind — everything.”
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Donaire (43-9, 28 KOs) returns to action Sunday in Yokohama, Japan, where he faces Riku Masuda (9-1, 8 KOs) at bantamweight, featuring on the undercard of the U-Next Boxing 5 card — headlined by Anthony Olascuaga’s WBO flyweight title defense against Jukiya Iimura.
The veteran is aiming to halt a rough stretch that has seen him drop three of his last four contests in the 118-pound division, and in the process maneuver his way back into title contention in the division he ruled more than a decade ago.
“The mind is a very powerful thing,” he continues. “If you point that in the right direction then everything else can follow. I’ve still got a lot of speed, a lot of power and everything is working as it should, so why shouldn’t I continue?”
Nonito Donaire believes he can unify all the bantamweight titles despite his advanced age.
(KAZUHIRO NOGI via Getty Images)
Donaire preempts the narrative that this conversation is framed around. He’s used to it by now. After all, you don’t rack up 52 fights over 25 years and suffer nine defeats without facing a question regarding potential retirement.
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“Fighting gives me focus, something to get up in the morning for,” Donaire said. “It keeps me motivated — and this is so important for me. It’s a passion and it keeps me healthy, energetic and young at heart. Boxing keeps me feeling alive. My heart, body, mind and soul are all still so invested in the sport, and it still makes me feel amazing every time I fight or train.
“I think this is so important. I’m not stagnant at all — I’m still enjoying learning about the sport and trying to get better. So who’s to say how long this can last?”
Donaire explains that the thought of retirement doesn’t scare him, but complacency or his body slowing down does. “When you get comfortable you begin to fall behind, that’s the biggest killer of athletes as it takes everything from you.
“I know I can be greater. And that feeling is so addictive. I’m challenging myself against these younger guys in sparring and getting the better of them.”
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If Donaire is to be greater than where his record currently stands, then he’s got one hell of a hill to climb — and that’s meant complimentarily. The “Filipino Flash” has won world titles in four different divisions including flyweight, bantamweight, super bantamweight and featherweight, but the one thing missing from his résumé is becoming “undisputed”.
“I became Fighter of the Year, multi-weight world champion, multi-unified world champion, even the Nice Guy Award — you name it, I won it — but undisputed has always eluded me,” he said.
“I don’t believe this current crop of bantamweight champions to be great — they are OK,” he continues. “So for me, I see it as a big opportunity to achieve this dream of becoming undisputed. Of course, I am not taking anything or anyone lightly, but I feel like the division was so much stronger a decade ago when I dominated.
“Sure, this current crop are all improving, and they are all champions in their own right, but the best of the lot, Seiya Tsutsumi, I believe I beat last year. So what does that say?”
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Last December, Donaire challenged Tsutsumi (13-0-3, 8 KOs) for the WBA bantamweight title in Tokyo, pushing the younger champion in a competitive 12-round fight, eventually losing on a disputed split decision via scores of 115–113, 117–111, 112–116. Tsutsumi is still recovering from injuries suffered in the fight.
“I know I can beat him [Tsutsumi] next time around from what I learnt in our first meeting,” he adds. “Whether he’ll still be champion when our paths meet again, who knows, but that fight has given me more belief than ever that I belong at the top of this division.”
But first in the way of Donaire is 28-year-old southpaw Riku Masuda, who first grabbed the attention of boxing fans in February 2024 when he flattened former world title challenger Jonas Sultan inside a round at Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan.
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A perfectly placed left hand to the body sent Sultan crumpling in agony, the referee waving it off with roughly 50 seconds still to run in the opening stanza. Masuda has since run 5-0 en route to a meeting with Donaire in this WBA world title eliminator, catching the attention of the Filipino in the process.
“He [Masuda] has great balance and has the ability to fight very aggressively or box to instruction,” Donaire explains. “But he relies very heavily on one punch. We’ve got the perfect game plan to nullify this and take full advantage.”
If becoming undisputed tops Donaire’s list of achievements left in the sport, fighting again in the Philippines isn’t far behind. He has laced up as a professional only five times in his homeland, and has had provisional talks of returning soon.
But for now, a training camp inside the Omega Boxing Gym, Cebu, is the closest he will get to fighting in front of his Filipino family, with Japan typically offering the biggest opportunities in the lower weight classes.
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The spotlight is currently on Yokohama, Masuda and another chapter in a career that refuses to slow down. And if history has taught us anything, it’s that Nonito Donaire doesn’t measure success by age or setbacks — he measures it by unfinished business.
And who better to know when business is finished or not than the man himself?