Donaire returns, takes on Mexican in featherweight bout
Nonito Donaire Jr.
MANILA, Philippines – Former four-division world champion Nonito Donaire Jr. will return to the ring after a 10-month layoff, testing Mexican Ruben Hernandez at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas on Saturday (Sunday Manila time).
Donaire (37-4, with 24 KOs) will fight Hernandez (22-2, with 9 KOs) for the vacant WBC silver featherweight title, marking the Filipino-American’s return to the 126-pound division.
This marks the third time Donaire will fight as a featherweight, splitting his two bouts in the weight class. After dethroning Simpiwe Vetyeka to become the WBA featherweight champion in 2014, he failed to defend the title, losing to Nicholas Walters by knockout the same year.
Donaire then slid back to super bantamweight (122 pounds), annexing the WBO version of the title.
The 34-year-old Donaire hasn’t fought since losing the WBO super bantamweight championship to Jessie Magdaleno in November 2016 in Las Vegas.
He is hoping to go back to his winning ways against the unheralded Hernandez, who for his part sees Donaire – who has also won titles at flyweight and bantamweight – as his springboard to bigger fights.
- Latest
- Trending
