FORMER world champion Nonito Donaire Jr. believes he did more than enough to win the WBA bantamweight crown.
The 43-year-old Filipino let everybody know how he felt following his failed attempt to wrest the 118lbs title belt from Seiya Tsutusmi in Tokyo, Japan Wednesday night.
The Japanese champion retained his crown via split decision, with two of the judges having Tsutsumi the winner, 117-111 and 115-113, and the third one giving the fight in favor of Donaire, 116-112.
Donaire stressed his high respect for Tsutsumi, but disagreed with how the judges – at least two of them – scored the 12-round bout at Kokugikan Arena.
“I gave everything I had in that ring, and I leave with my head held high,” said the ‘Filipino Flash’ in an Instagram post.
“While the scorecards don’t reflect how I felt the fight unfolded, I’m grateful for the opportunity and proud of the work.”
Donaire controlled the fight early on and nearly knocked down Tsutsumi as Round 4 was coming to an end, landing home a right straight to the face followed by a right uppercut that had the champion losing his balance and nearly touching the canvas with his glove.
But the 29-year-old undefeated Japanese took charge in the middle rounds and finished strong, enough to get the nod of the two judges.
Tsutsumi kept his unbeaten record at 13-0, including 8 KOs. It was his second title defense of the WBA belt after scoring a unanimous decision against compatriot Dairo Higa earlier this year.
Downward trend for Donaire
Donaire, who was the oldest fighter to win the bantamweight championship at age 38, has now lost three of his last four fights, including his rematch against two-time undisputed champion Naoya Inoue in 2022 when he suffered a second round TKO.
He previously won titles at flyweight, featherweight, super bantamweight, and bantamweight, though, his natural weight is within the 118lbs limit.
Donaire made his comeback middle of this year after a two-year hiatus and scored a technical unanimous decision against Andres Campos of Chile to claim the WBA interim bantamweight crown, paving the way for his challenge against Tsutsumi.
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