MANILA – Nonito Donaire Jr. aims for the WBA world bantamweight belt as he battles titleholder Ryan Burnett of Northern Ireland on Sunday at the SSE Hyrdo in Glasgow, Scotland.
A victory by the Talibon, Bohol native will not only hand him the WBA title but also a chance to challenge world bantamweight champions from WBO, IBF, WBA and WBO as part of the World Boxing Super Series.
Going down to the bantamweight division for the first time since defeating Omar Narvaez in 2011 will not be a hindrance to his aim of sweeping all the division’s world titles, said Donaire, 36.
“My goal is to become the first Filipino to unify a world championship,” Donaire told a news conference last Wednesday. “This tournament gives me an opportunity to showcase my capabilities against the best in this division.”
He added: “Burnett is a smart, rugged guy and I don’t doubt what he’s capable of, so I will use everything in my capabilities to take that away. It is going to be an exciting fight. My fights are always exciting.”
Burnett, for his part, warned Donaire not to look past him as he will do everything to keep the world championship and be the one to contest for other bantamweight world titles.
“I picked Nonito (Donaire) because the better the fighter, the better I become. I am close to having everything I ever wanted in life. That’s why I have this mad hunger to smash through every single object in front of me,” Burnett said.
Donaire has a 38-5-0 win-loss-draw ring record including 24 stoppage victories. The Filipino-American fighter is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Carl Frampton for the interim WBO featherweight title in April.
The 26-year-old Burnett, on the other hand, has an unblemished 19-0-0 win-loss-draw slate with 24 knockout victories. This will be his second title defense after winning against Yonfrez Parejo earlier this year./PN
