Nicholas Walters, left, battles Nonito Donaire in the second round during a WBA featherweight title boxing fight, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014, in Carson, Calif. Walters won in the sixth round. AP
CARSON, California—Is the featherweight division too tough for Nonito Donaire Jr.?
If there’s any doubt about that, Nicholas Walters made sure he erased it Saturday night.
With a looping right to just above the back of the ear in the sixth round, Walters emphatically told Donaire that he is not welcome in the 126 lb division.
Now it appears that Donaire’s options are either retirement or a return to the super bantam division.
“I thought I will be [good] in this weight class, you know, as I’m getting older,” said Donaire. “But I’m not going to take anything from Walters. I was at my best. I never trained this hard. Never, ever.”
“I’ve got to go back to the drawing board,” said Donaire. “I know that I can’t compete with guys like Walters, he is just amazing, overwhelming, a powerful guy who is running in the ring. No matter what I did, movement or anything, I just can’t stand to his size, his powerful aura inside that ring.”
Retirement may not be on the horizon just yet as Donaire has recently signed a fresh contract with Top Rank.