NONITO Donaire made short work of mandatory challenger Reymart Gaballo to retain his WBC bantamweight title on Saturday at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California (Sunday, Manila time) in a statement win that lined him up for a possible rematch with Japanese rival Naoya Inoue.
The 39-year-old champion scored a fourth round knockout against his fellow Filipino with a solid left hook to the body from which Gaballo failed to recover.
Referee Ray Corona waved the fight at the 2:59 mark of the fourth as he counted Gaballo out after the challenger failed in his attempt to get up from the knockdown.
Donaire then ran over and climbed on the ring ropes with both hands raised, aware the impressive win could be his biggest meal ticket in setting up another showdown with the unbeaten Inoue, generally considered as the best fighter in the bantamweight division today.
The 'Filipino Flash' gave Inoue, the IBF and WBA title holder, a handful in their first meeting in November of 2019, despite losing by unanimous decision in their title fight in Saitama, Japan.
Despite the win in what was later adjudged as the 2019 Fight of the Year, Inoue was left with a broken nose and a fractured orbital bone.
Reymart Gaballo suffers his first career loss.
"There's no mercy," said Donaire afterwards, admitting he was trying to set up his left hook for the kill by going to the body as instructed by his father Nonito Donaire Sr. and wife-trainer Rachel.
"I had to set it up by bouncing up and down, left and right. And so I opened up with the body which landed with that left hook.. But a lot of it was to the right, to the right in the earlier rounds."
While the five-division champion knew Gaballo has a lot of heart, he also thought the fight was over from that point.
"That was tremendous punch that lander on him," Donaire added.
Donaire, defending the 118-lbs crown he won over Nordine Oubaali last May, raised his record to 42-6 (28 KOs) as he continued to impress as the oldest bantamweight champion ever in boxing history.
Gaballo, 25, had his moment in the fight and tried to stay with Donaire in the early rounds.
But he was simply outclassed by the champion, who dealt him his first career loss in 25 fights.
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