FILE–Nonito Donaire and his wife Rachel, who also serves as his head trainer. –DONAIRE INSTAGRAM
MANILA, Philippines—Nonito Donaire’s resurgent 2021 has him in the running for the prestigious Fighter of the Year award by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA).
“The Filipino Flash” is among the six candidates for the plum which includes top pound-for-pound fighter Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and heavyweight champions Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
Donaire won the same award back in 2012 in a year he went 4-0 with wins over Wilfredo Vasquez, Jeffrey Mathebula, Toshiaki Nishioka and Mexican legend Jorge Arce.
Rounding out the list are two-belt super bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton and undisputed super lightweight champion Josh Taylor.
The 39-year-old Donaire scored a pair of fourth-round knockouts last year, dominating Frenchman Nordine Oubaali in May before outclassing compatriot Reymart Gaballo last December.
Donaire, a four-division champion, became the oldest bantamweight champion when he took the WBC crown from Oubaali.
Donaire’s impressive year came after he lost his WBA (Super) belt in a 12-round slugfest with Naoya Inoue in 2019.
His wife, Rachel, is also nominated for manager of the year.
Winners will be announced on March 14.