CARSON, CALIFORNIA – MAY 29: Nonito Donaire celebrates his fourth round KO win against Nordine Oubaali after their WBC World Bantamweight Championship bout at Dignity Health Sports Park on May 29, 2021 in Carson, California. Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
MANILA, Philippines — Nonito Donaire isn’t writing off Manny Pacquiao in the latter’s title fight against WBC and IBF world welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr.
After all, he and Pacquiao are on similar plot points at this moment in their respective careers.
Donaire just became the oldest bantamweight champion at 38 years old when he defeated Nordine Oubaali, 34, for the WBC strap Sunday.
Pacquiao, 42, meanwhile is fighting 31-year-old Spence on August 21 in Las Vegas in his first fight since July 2019.
“He can do it. If he sees me do it he’s gonna do it,” said Donaire in an interview with ESNews after he knocked out Oubaali in the fourth round of their bout at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
Donaire, the challenger heading into the bout, was a +200 underdog against Oubaali, who was at -225, in the oddsmakers’ books.
Oubaali was also carrying a perfect 17-0 record prior to the match while Donaire was coming off a loss against WBA (Super) and IBF champion Naoya Inoue.
Those numbers, however, proved futile as Donaire (41-6) dropped Oubaali twice in the third round and one more in the fourth with referee Jack Reiss stopping the fight 1:52 into the round.
Donaire feels that Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) could be seen as the underdog against the two-belt champion Spence (27-0, 21 KOs), who’s considered as one of the top two welterweights in the world alongside Terence Crawford.
But underdog or not, Donaire said that Pacquiao will still turn the tide to his favor just as he did since he started his career as a scrawny light flyweight in 1995.
“That’s one of the guys who nobody believed in and when he showed up everybody just loved him,” said Donaire.