FILE – Nonito Donaire (bottom) and Jessie Magdaleno both celebrate at the end of their WBO junior featherweight championship fight at the Thomas & Mack Center on November 5, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ethan Miller/Getty Images/AFP
Four-division world champion Nonito Donaire sees no room for error in his title unification fight against undefeated Japanese Naoya Inoue in the World Boxing Super Series bantamweight final on November 7 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
Donaire is wary of the caliber of an opponent he will be up against in Inoue, who has 16 knockouts in his 18 wins.
“We are both gifted fighters with speed and power and intelligence. The one who commits the first mistake in the ring, he will lose. I can tell you that this fight could be long like a game of chess,” Donaire said in a story on boxingscene.com.
The 36-year-old Donaire is the much more experienced fighter and has fought stiffer competition but the Filipino star has himself as the underdog against Inoue, who is 10 years younger.
Inoue’s youth presents a different challenge for Donaire, who is determined to show that the glaring age disparity is just a number.
“I feel very motivated and incredibly excited to jump into a fight with Naoya Inoue in Japan, which is a beautiful country that has educated me spiritually,” said Donaire (45-5, 40 KOs).
“It gives me joy and satisfaction because I can fight in Japan. There is a huge sense of wonder to see if I can deal with a great fighter like Naoya Inoue, who will force me to bring out all of my qualities as a boxer. I know that Naoya Inoue is the favorite due to his youth. But, I have a lot of determination to reverse the odds, and for that, I will fully dedicate myself to the maximum level with my physical preparations.”