WITH COVID-19 conditions in Japan expected to ease up in the next few months, the unification title clash between world bantamweight champions Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire Jr. and Japan’s Naoya “Monster” Inoue is moving closer to reality, according to Top Rank chief Bob Arum.
“I think that’s (Donaire-Inoue title match) is really close. Everything depends not on Donaire, not on Inoue, not on (Japanese promoters Hideyuki) Ohashi or (Akihiko) Honda, but on the Japanese government lifting the restrictions on events and so forth,” Arum said in an interview by Sean Nam posted on the boxingscene.com yesterday.
Arum said both camps had agreed in principle to the highly-anticipated rematch between two of the most exciting boxers in the bantamweight division.
Donaire is promoted by Probellum chief Richard Schaefer while Inoue is co-promoted by Arum and Japanese handlers Ohashi and Honda.
Arum said that recent reports coming from Japan indicated that virus restrictions in the Land of the Rising Sun would be relaxed starting this month and “from what we understand, April we’ll be in all clear. The world is opening up.”
The first time they met, Donaire and Inoue engaged in a pulsating action-packed encounter on Nov. 7, 2019 at the Super Arena in Saitama, Japan that left boxing fans wanting for more.
With the World Boxing Association super bantamweight and International Boxing Federation bantamweight belts on the line, a badly-bruised Inoue, 28, scored a unanimous decision win over Donaire, 39, who was knocked down in the 11th round and suffered a fractured right orbital bone.
The encounter was billed by the prestigious US-based Ring Magazine as the 2019 Fight of the Year.
Since then, both prizefighters have taken different paths.
The unbeaten baby-faced Inoue racked up three more wins to raise his record to a clean 22-0 slate, laced by 19 knockouts, including a third-round KO of Pinoy challenger Michael Dasmarinas on June 19, 2021 at the Virgins Hotel in Las Vegas.
The Japanese slugger’s last fight ended in another eighth-round stoppage of Thailand’s Aran Dipaen last December at the Kogugikan Arena in Tokyo.
Donaire, meanwhile, wrested the World Boxing Council bantamweight strap with a fourth-round knockout of erstwhile unbeaten Frenchman Nordine Oubaali on May 29, 2021 at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson City, California.
Back in the same arena, Donaire retained his crown by knocking out compatriot and top-ranked contender Reymart Gaballo in the fourth round of a mandatory title fight last Dec. 11 to remain as the world’s oldest bantamweight champion.
