FILE–Filipino boxer Nonito Donaire (R) celebrates after winning the Bantamweight World Championship boxing match on May 29, 2021 in Carson, California. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines—Nonito Donaire sees no problem dropping down to super flyweight if he can’t secure the rematch against Naoya Inoue for a potential four-belt bout.
In an appearance on the Boxing with Chris Mannix podcast, the WBC bantamweight champion said moving down to 115 pounds so he could trade leather with Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez or WBA and Ring Magazine titleholder Juan Francisco Estrada is an enticing proposition.
“I would love to,” said Donaire, h/t BoxingScene.com. “I’m putting myself out there, in that mix with ‘Chocolatito’ and Estrada. … That would be great. I am all for it. I’m all for it.”
Donaire, 40, hasn’t fought at super flyweight since 2010 when he stopped Hernan Marquez in eight rounds to win the WBA interim title.
Despite his long absence from the division, he has no qualms shedding three pounds if a fight with Inoue, the holder of WBA, IBF, and Ring Magazine bantamweight belts, couldn’t be done.
“Making the weight is just such a simple thing for me. I mean, I could go down to 115 if I want to, you know, and still feel really strong.”
“When I fought Inoue, I was actually 116, so I had to [drink]], a few waters, to get up to 117, just a little bit below 118. So 116, you know, is right around the corner of 115.”
Donaire (42-6) won two straight fights in 2021 knocking out Nordine Oubaali in the fourth to win his title and then doing the same to Reymart Gaballo in his first defense.
The two wins came after Donaire lost to Inoue in November 2019 in a match that Boxing Writers Association of America deemed Fight of the Year.