THE Filipinas will not be the only once chasing a new milestone when they battle Norway on Sunday for a place in the next round of the FIFA Women’s World Cup at the Eden Park here.
Over at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday (Sunday morning in Manila), Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire will also aim to achieve sports history when he clashes with Mexico’s Alexandro Santiago for the vacant World Boxing Council bantamweight championship.
At 40, Donaire is bidding to become the oldest world bantamweight when he takes on Santiago in the undercard of the unified welterweight championship between Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford.
“I’m coming to take that belt home and there’s no second option for me,” said Donaire, who has a record of 42 wins, 28 by knockout, and seven losses, of his renewed quest for boxing glory Thursday.
He is not taking Santiago lightly.
“I’ve brought in some really fast fighters who have helped me prepare, and my team has really focused on giving me some defensive pointers,” said Donaire. “I can’t wait to get in there.”
With a record 27 wins, five losses against three draws, Santiago was just as animated in facing the veteran boxer.
“He’s about to be a father,” one of his trainers, Romulo “Bobby” Quirarte Jr. told the Mexican press.
“He’s been patient,” he added. “He’s worked a long time.”
Donaire has not fought in over a year since suffering a second-round technical knockout loss to Japanese Naoya “Monster” Inoue in their world bantamweight unification bout on June 6, 2022 at the Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
