MANILA – Nonito Donaire Jr. made a successful ring return. He achievied a 10th round technical unanimous decision victory against Andres Campos from Chile for the WBA interim bantamweight title on Sunday at Casino Buenos Aires in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The scorecards favored “The Filipino Flash” with three judges scoring it 87-84, 87-84, and 88-83, after the fight was stopped early in the tenth round due to an accidental head butt.
Utilizing his extensive experience, Donaire dominated the younger Campos throughout the match, although he was headbutted multiple times by his opponent.
Donaire’s right eye was completely shut before the tenth round following yet another headbutt from Campos at the end of the ninth round.
This marked the first bout of the 42-year-old Donaire since suffering a unanimous decision defeat to Alexandro Santiago for the WBC world bantamweight title in July 2023.
Donaire’s next opponent will be the winner of the bout between WBA bantamweight titleholder Antonio Vargas and Japan’s Daigo Higa, who are set to face off on July 30.
With this victory, Donaire improved his record to 43 wins, 8 losses, and 0 draws, including 28 wins by knockout, while Campos fell to a record of 17 wins, 3 losses, and 1 draw, with six of his victories coming by stoppage.
Donaire’s boxing return occurred more than a month before the comeback of Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, who is scheduled to fight Mario Barrios on July 19 for the WBC world welterweight championship./PN
