MANILA – Nonito Donaire Jr. will put his WBC world bantamweight championship on the line. He faces fellow Filipino fighter Reymart Gaballo on Saturday night (Sunday in the Philippines) at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
This will be the Talibon, Bohol native’s first defense of the world championship he captured via a fourth round stoppage win over Nordine Oubaali of France seven months ago.
According to the 39-year-old Donaire, he is thankful to the opportunity to face a fellow Filipino in Gaballo after his supposed unification bout with another Pinoy, fighter in John Riel Casimero, was cancelled due to both fighter’s trash-talking.
“I just wanna say thanks to Raymart Gaballo for bringing honor as a Filipino boxer,” Donaire said. “It is not about trash-talking, it’s about appreciating what we have and may the best man win.”
He added: “This is what is supposed to be. Dapat ganito ang mga Pilipino, nagrerespetuhan sa isa’t isa. Hindi ‘yung magta-trashtalk. Kasi sa loob ng ring gagawin namin ‘yung lahat ng magagawa namin. Kung sino ang manalo o matalo, suportado pa rin kami.”
Gaballo, for his part, said he will not waste this rare opportunity to fight for a world championship against his childhood idol Donaire as he also hopes to protect his unblemished record.
“I’m really excited for this fight because ever since I was a kid I’ve always idolized Nonito,” said Gaballo. “One thing I’ve always watched during his fights is how he set up his left hook. That’s also the first thing I have to look out for.”
Added Gaballo: “Nonito is a great boxer and his power is always there.”
Gaballo was also a former WBA interim bantamweight champion. “That’s why I’ll do everything in my power to make this a great fight,” he said.
Donaire will be entering the match with 41-6-0 win-loss-draw ring record, including 27 victories by way of stoppages, while the 25-year-old Gaballo has 24-0-0 slate, with 20 of his wins by knockouts.
Prior to the Donaire-Gaballo bout, Filipino Marlon Tapales (34-3-0, 17 KOs) will tangle with Japanese Hiroaki Teshigawara (22-2-2, 15 KOs) for the IBF super bantamweight title eliminator./PN
