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—Now that he’s had it, Nonito Donaire Jr., said he’s no longer afraid of getting knocked out.
The morning after suffering a sixth-round KO loss to Nicholas Walters, Donaire was in high spirits while entertaining guests at his hotel room. They all wanted to know how he’s taking the first knockout debacle of his career.
Donaire, who sustained two cuts on his eyelids that required 10 stitches each to close, declared that he will push through with his career that was put in question after his devastating loss to the Jamaican Walters in their unification fight for the WBA featherweight title at StubHub Center here.
By some strange coincidence, Manny Pacquiao was also felled for good at 2:59 of the sixth round of his fight against Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012.
“Dugong Pilipino tayo, hindi umaayaw (We are Filipinos, we don’t quit),” Donaire told this reporter. “I’ll do better next time.”
Donaire is expected to move down in weight to 122 pounds from 126, which proved to be too much for him.
The blow that sent him face down to the canvas for the first time in his career came from a right to the head. But Donaire said it was the right uppercut three rounds earlier that knocked him down for the first time in his career that led to his downfall.
Donaire said the uppercut, which slipped through his gloves and put him down on his knees, “took my legs and body.”
“I didn’t see it coming,” recalled Donaire. “When he caught me with the uppercut, that changed the game. It took my legs and my body. It changed the game.”
For what it’s worth, Donaire said he’s no longer afraid of losing.
Looking back, Donaire said his father-trainer Nonito Sr. had instructed him to box instead of engaging Walters in a full-blown battle.
“Sakit ko yun, hindi ako umaatras (That’s my bad habit, I don’t back down from a fight),” said Donaire. He added that he felt dizzy after the KO but was feeling okay afterward.
He said he watched the fight at his hotel room and “learned a lot from there.”
“For now, I will try to relax and recover,” said Donaire.